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regWnal management approach to the problem was essential to fInding a solution. The PP ACG Board of Directors decided to create a public forum for continuing work on the Fountain Creek Watershed Project. The PPACG formed the Fountain Creek Watershed Forum (FCWF) in conjunction with the Pueblo Area Council of Governments (PACOG). Elected offIcials from the PPACG and PACOG provide the leadership and form the Policy Development Committee. The technical staff from cities and counties and other interested agencies and affected parties form the Fountain Creek Watershed Forum Technical Advisory Committee (FCWFTAC). The FCWFTAC has been meeting since November 1998. At the advice of the FCWFT AC, the FCWF began exploring the possibility of securing another grant from the EP A. The grant will be used to generate a comprehensive, regional watershed management plan. In conjunction with this proposed EP A funded study effort, the FCWF has expressed interest in pursuing a Feasibility Study by the Corps of Engineers through re-activation of an existing study authority. As a result of the April 29, 1999 flood, many affected parties along Fountain Creek were able to obtain immediate streambank erosion protection through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection program allows restoration and protection of streambanks threatening private and public interests. Nevertheless, the overall challenge for the FCWF is enormous in scope and will likely require a combined effort on the part of the Corps of Engineers, local government agencies and other Federal agencies. In anticipation of a concerted regional effort, the City of Colorado Springs, EI Paso County, City of Pueblo and Pueblo County are working toward a regional stormwater services project to develop the organizational, operational, legal, and fInancial framework of a regional stormwater and flood control organization. This may ultimately evolve into an entity which can sponsor a comprehensive, basin-wide, Federally cost shared flood control improvement project. Arkansas River Development within the Arkansas basin downstream of Pueblo has not been as signifIcant as the development along the Fountain Creek and tributaries. The increased flow and associated erosion and sediment transport from Fountain Creek has created aggradation within the Arkansas River channel. This aggradation and increase in base stream flow has resulted in increased flooding from flows that occur at relatively frequent intervals. This appears to be largely the case at La Junta, Colorado. Local officials report that the Arkansas River channel bed in La Junta has increased in elevation 16 feet over the last 30 years. Aggradation in the river channel has become problematic from the standpoint of local stormwater drainage. In 1993, the Corps of Engineers conducted a hydrologic investigation for La Junta as part of an initial appraisal for a Section 205 Small Flood Control Project. The investigation was focused on the First Street Stormdrain between the King and Anderson Arroyos. The drainage area and flow quantity were below the policy threshold for Corps of Engineers projects, but it was clear that sedimentation has adversely affected drainage to enter Post Flood Assessment Report 36 Chapter 5 - Flood Risk Assessment Draft Revised 09/09/99