FLOOD09060

• County: Statewide
• Community: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Statewide River Rehabilitation and Flood Plain Management Needs Inventory
• Date: 2/18/1998
• Prepared For: State of Colorado
• Prepared By: McLaughlin Water Engineers, Ltd.
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

I
II
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I

CHAPTER VII

STREAM CORRIDOR NEEDS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the results of 135 communities and counties who responded to the Colorado Water
Conservation Board's inventory of floodplain and stream corridor issues. The responses have been
grouped into four categories: planning assistance, funding implementation responses, public
information/technical assistance, and policy and criteria. The needs of the respondents in each of the four
categories are presented. The conclusions from the responses are summarized to provide direction and
confirmation of the need for additional involvement with local stakeholders by the CWCB in floodplain and
stream corridor management The last portion of this chapter contains the recommendations by the CWCB
to address these needs and conclusions.

RESPONDENT NEEDS

Planning Assistance Needs
Community Growth Pattern. Community growth patterns are adversely affecting natural stream corridor
functions. Forty-two percent of the respondents indicated the need to include a watershed based drainage
master plan to enable present decision makers to create a plan that addresses the watershed and how
individual projects would fit into the overall plan rather than only looking at individual projects, This
master plan would also provide future decision makers with insight concerning what was envisioned for
the watershed, and provide a basis for sound decision making based upon hydrological and environmental
concepts which take into account the watershed's unique geomorphology, soils, climate, vegetation,
wildlife, and human characteristics.

Multi-obiective Stewardshio Persoective. Specific, single purpose solutions are generally inadequate;
multi-objective stewardship perspective should be applied to management of watershed and stream
corridors. Multi-objective planning solutions are needed for most Colorado watersheds. Sixty- two percent
of the respondents expressed a need for a multi-objective stream/river rehabilitation project. This indicates
a recognition that floodplains and stream corridors have important functions within the watershed which
can be managed to benefit more than one single purpose. Due to the general arid climate in the West, the
presence of water in these portions of the watershed often contain some of the more unique and valuable
habitat attributes within the watershed, which can be enjoyed by all residents if properly managed.

VII-l

91..Q60.00l