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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />program, normal depths <br />floodplain cross-sections <br />surveys. <br /> <br />calculations, or other acceptable hydraulic methods. <br />may be obtained from detailed topographic mapping <br /> <br />Channel and <br />or from field <br /> <br />Floodplain MappiUl! <br />The existing Flood Insurance Study for Morgan County includes numerous Flood Insurance Rate <br />Map (FIRM) panels that cover the entire county. These maps show approximate floodplain <br />delineations for most of the major flooding sources within the County. Detailed floodplain <br />information is shown for Beaver Creek in the vicinity of Brush, Colorado. The floodplain mapping <br />has not been revised by the CWCB, however discrepancies and errors in the mapping may exist. <br /> <br />Land use, planning, and development decisions should not rely soley on the approximate floodplain <br />delineations shown on the FIRM panels. Morgan County should regulate its approximate <br />floodplains on a case-by-case basis. FEMA regulations require that a detailed floodplain analysis <br />be submitted to the County prior to most floodplain development activities. The detailed floodplain <br />analysis needs to be performed by a professional engineer and submitted by the developer or project <br />proponent for development involving more than 5 acres or more than 50 units. At a minimum, it is <br />recommended that an approximate floodplain analysis (using hydrologic and hydraulic methods <br />discussed above) be performed for the situations where a detailed analysis is not required. <br /> <br />FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT <br /> <br />Local Ordinance Requirements <br />Communities which manage their floodplains in Colorado do so most often through the local <br />regulatory process. This requires a community to adopt an ordinance or regulation which sets forth <br />the performance standards by which development will occur in identified flood hazard areas. <br />Nationwide and in Colorado, regulations are enforced within the area of the lOO-year floodplain. <br /> <br />The basic requirement of these regulations is that new development and significant improvement of <br />existing development cannot occur in the lOO-year floodplain without a floodplain development <br />permit being obtained. Obtaining such a permit requires compliance with engineering standards. In <br />communities like Morgan County that have approximate floodplain information, the engineering <br />standards have been more general. Structures must be built with materials and techniques that <br />"minimize flood damages". For communities like Morgan County that also have detailed <br />floodplain information, more specific regulations apply. The use of engineering techniques <br />presented in this report can help the City to better regulate its approximate floodplain areas. <br /> <br />Flood Insurance <br />Flood insurance is made available to owners and occupants of floodprone property through the <br />federal government's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP insurance is available <br />to anyone in any community that participates in the NFIP. At the time of this publication, Morgan <br />County was participating in the NFIP, and officially joined the regular program of the NFIP on <br />September 29, 1989. Communities become participants by adopting floodplain regulations, <br /> <br />6 <br />