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History of Flood Mitigation in Colorado Flood Hazard mitigation has been occurring in Colorado for several decades. In the past, it was often implemented at the local level of government generally following flood disasters. In recent times, involvement from both the state and federal government has become more common as each entity has provided funding and technical assistance for flood hazard mitigation. In the future, the implementation of flood hazard mitigation strategies will still take place locally but it will be supplemented with new enthusiasm from the state and federal government as pre-disaster mitigation becomes the cornerstone of FEMA and state programs. In the 1980's and the 1990's, Colorado state government's first formal experi- ence with flood hazard mitigation followed the 1982 and 1984 Presidential Disaster Declarations, particularly in 1984. The 1982 declaration addressed the Lawn Lake Dam failure near Estes Park and was fairly localized in scope. On the other hand, 17 counties on Colorado's Western Slope were included under the 1984 declaration. Mitigation measures related to infrastructure and watershed management were implemented in Delta and Montrose Counties. These measures consisted primarily of replacing existing structures, such as bridges and culverts, that had washed out or been damaged with ones Of larger capacity. An acquisitionjbuy-out also occurred in a subdivision in Paonia, Colo- rado. Bank stabilization efforts at severa/locations were undertoken. In 1984, 1 OO-year flooding occurred in the Delta County area upstream of the confluence of the Uncompahgre and Gunnison Rivers. These flood impacts set into a motion a series of actions by local governments which today has culmi- nated in the development of a park at the rivers' confluence. In 1993, t/ie State's mountain snowpack was at an all-time high in several drain- ages. Pre-disaster mitigation activities such as sandbagging critical locations and placement of diversion structures occurred in western slope counties such as Gunnison County. Rock deflection jetties were placed to protect the county fairground facilities in Hotchkiss (Delta County). Bank stabilization was agoin commonplace. In addition, education efforts through the Colorado Water Con- servation Board's Spring Flood Awareness Campaign prompted action from local governments. The State's first Flood Task Force was formed in 1993 to disseminate real time data regarding streamflow, snowpack and potential for flooding and to provide coordination among federal, state, local and private entities involved in flood preparedness and response. Involvement by the Colorado Natural Hazards Mitigation Council ICNHMC) came to the forefront, as experts from across Colorado offered technical and engineering assistance to mitigate the impacts of flooding. Several mountain counties throughout the state were impacted to