FLOOD05062

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Colorado Flood Awareness Day
• Date: 7/31/1981
• Prepared For: State of Colorado
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Miscellaneous

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SUMMARY
OF
COLORADO FLOOD AWARENESS DAY,

JULY 31, 1981

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On July 31, 1981, a ceremony was held in the City of
Loveland's Viestenz-Smith Park in the Big Thompson Canyon obsery-
ing the first Flood Awareness Day in Colorado. Efforts by the
Water' Conservation Board staff to hold such a ceremony began in
April, were extended through June, and consumed much of the State
Assistance Program staff's time in the month of July. The result
was a day when Coloradans had time to remember the Big Thompson
Flood of July 31, 1976, to recall past floods in Colorado's his-
tory, and to consider the role of floodplain management in
reducing loss of life and property from future floods in Colorado.

, During April, May, and June, initial preparations were made ,:'
for holding Colorado FloOdplain Management Week from July 31 to
August 6, 1981. In mid-June, it was decided to reduce the scope
of activities to a single day. It was felt that preparing all of
the materials and activities for a week-long observation would be
too much work for the time available. At the same time, plans
were finalized to hold a signing ceremony in the Governor's Office
proclaiming July 31, 1981, as FloOd Awareness Day. A first draft
of a proclamation and some other infOrmational materials were
prepared for the proclamation writer, and a time and date were
set for the ceremony. The following persons were invited to
attend the ceremony as representatives of floodplain management
interests throughout the state:

1 )
2)
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9)
10)

Mr. Scott Tucker, Executive Director of the Urban
Drainage and Flood Control District
Tom and Louise Bein, Big Thompson Canyon property
owners
Mr. Steve McMilla~, former Larimer County Big
Thompson Recovery Effort Coordinator
Mr. Jerry Olson, Director of the FEMA Division of
Insurance and Mitigation for Federal Region VIII
Mr. W. R. Keirnes, Big Thompson Canyon property
owner
Mayor Viola June of the City of Westminster
Mr. Don Aldrich, Otero County Engineer
Mr. Ken Wright of Wright-McLaughlin Engineers
Mr. Jim Carter, Chairman of the Fountain Creek
Commission in Pueblo
Mr. Mike Serlet, Floodplain Management Coordinator
for Boulder C01,1~._._ __ '______.._.

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On July 23, the signing ceremony was held. A significant
number of the invitees attended the ceremony. FrOm a photograph
taken at the signing ceremony, a poster for Flood Awareness Day
was prepared.

At that point, the arrangements for the July 31 ceremony
were still unclear. It was hoped that the Governor could attend
the ceremony, but arrangements had t,o be made to transport him by
helicopter to the Big Thompson Canyon site. Fortunately, the
'News DepartlllOnt of KMGll-'l'V, Channel 7, agreed to transport the
Governor. The ColoradO Air National Guard acted as standby -;
transporters, in the eve~_ of a major news story on that morn;ng.

11)
12)
13)
14)
15 )

16)
17)

MS~ Margaret Markey, Chairman of the Boulder
County Board of Commissioners
Mr. Robert Bauserman, Chairman of the 0tero
County BOard of Commissioners
Mr. Larry Simpson of the Northern ColoradO Water
Conservancy District
Ms. Nona Thayer, Larimer County Commissioner
Mr. Rex Burns, Floodplain Management Coordinator
for Larimer County and Chairman of the City of
Fort Collins Storm Drainage Board
ColoradO Representative Stephen T. Erickson
Colorado Senator Fred A. Anderson

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