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<br />0J2183 <br /> <br />DRAFT <br />August 30, 1989 <br /> <br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br /> <br />This report was prepared pursuant to the Colorado River <br />Floodway Protection Act, Public Law 99-450, for the purpose <br />of advising the Secretary of the Interior and the Congress <br />on the establishment and maintenance of the Colorado River <br />Floodway. It is the product of the Colorado River Floodway <br />Task Force, created by the Act and operated under the <br />provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and <br />provides recommendations on specific matters which the <br />Congress asked it to address. <br /> <br />The Colorado River Floodway Protection Act originated <br />from Congressional hearings held in 1983 in the aftermath of <br />the high Colorado Ri'ler flows and associated damages which <br />occurred primarily to encroachments in the Colorado River <br />flood plain. It pointed to the need to establish and <br />maintain an effective Floodway to preserve the river's <br />developed water storage capability, to minimize the loss of <br />.~w human life, to protect health and safety, and to minimize <br />damage to property and natural resources. <br /> <br />The Act calls for the establishment of a federally- <br />declared Floodway from Davis Dam to the Southerly <br />International Boundary between the United States of Amer ica <br />and the Republic of Mexico. It is to accommodate either a <br />one-in-one hundred year river flow consisting of controlled <br />releases and tributary inflow, or a flow of forty thousand <br />cubic feet per second, whichever is greater. The forty <br />thousand cubic feet per second flow corresponds to the long- <br />standing target maximum flood control release Objective of <br />Hoover Dam which was established with the Dam closure in <br />1935. The one-in-one hundred year frequency flow is the <br />standard level of protection that has been adopted in the <br />administration of the ~ational Flood Insurance Act. <br /> <br />In accordance with the Act, the boundaries of the <br />Floodway are to be established by the Secretary of the <br />Interior through a study process, rather than through <br />legislation, so that the boundaries will be based on current <br />scientific information and analysis. The study process <br />itself was to be conducted in a manner which will provide for <br />extensive local involvement and Congressional oversight. <br /> <br />i <br />