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<br />Provide Technical Assistance to COI1llnunitv Leaders, Community and landowners need assistance in <br />formulating and planning their river or stream rehabilitation projects, Floodplain management must be <br />expanded to include stream rehabilitation/stabilization, habitat and riparian zone preservation/enhancement, <br />and flood hazard mitigation, Eighty eight percent of the respondents cited one more problems relating to <br />stream corridors or local flooding, This high percentage indicates a recognition that flooding is a natural <br />function of this portion of the watershec.. However, this function is in direct conflict with historic practices <br />of man's decision to place certain types of structures in this portion of the watershed. <br /> <br />Funding Imolementation Needs, Most wmmunities desiH~ local level funding fortheirprojects, However, <br />communities and counties identified that local funds are unavailable or insufficient to suppo!'! stream <br />corridor projects, Thirty six percent of the respondents indicated lack of funding was the primary obstacle <br />to planning and implementing improve:nents, Economic factors have affected many communities due to <br />the rapid influx of new residents who want daily life sustaining needs to be provided including water <br />supplies, water treatment, streets, other utilities, These demands frequently consume all the fiscal and staff <br />resources of communities, As a result, floodplain and stream corridor planning and management is pushed <br />to a lower priority until natural flooding occurs which leave no alternative but to deal with floodplain <br />survival rather than management, Unfortunately, when such events have passed, the need to pn~pare for <br />the next event is often forgotten as evidenced by seventy p<:rcent of the respondents stating they do not have <br />a funding mechanism or if they do, it is inadequate to dea.l with current conditions, There m~eds to be an <br />effective program for administration of grants for planning activities and loans for floodplain and stream <br />corridor project implementation and construction, There is also a need for fiscal resources to asslst in flood <br />related emergency response and post-flood land acquisition to assist in relocating property owners from <br />the floodplain to alternate locations, <br /> <br />Public Information/Technical Assistance Needs. Community leade'rs need a better understanding of the <br />basics of how stream corridors funcl ion to support decision making processes, investigations, and <br />compliance investigations. The respondents indicate an inlmediale need for mapping 460 miles of <br />unmapped l00-year floodplain area, This has been conservatively estimated to be approximately 1500 <br />miles statewide, As Colorado's population continues to increase. this need will also expand. Twenty <br />percent of respondents believed f1ood:~lain maps need updating. Many of the maps were originally <br />prepared in the early 1970's and contained limited or inaccurate infOlmation. Community managers and <br />stakeholders need technical information, on stream rehabilitation and Htabilization. With man's increased <br />pressure to utilize floodplains and steam corridors for other uses, the need to accurately predit;t where <br />certain levels of flow will reach becomes imperative to insure: human and natural uses do not conflict. <br />Man's presence must accommodate the :;tream's need to also occupy portions of the floodplain, since flood <br />waters exercise a very real presence with no opportunity for negotiation, <br /> <br />VII-2 <br /> <br />97-060.001 <br />