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<br />002lJ93 <br /> <br />Preface <br /> <br />Between 20 and 30 floods occur somewhere in Colorado every <br />year. The intense storm that caused recent flooding and losses <br />of $35 million and 12 deaths in Cheyenne, Wyoming could have <br />been a major disaster anywhere along the Front Range. <br />Statewide, an average of $14 million and 4 lives are lost <br />annually to floods in Colorado. The flood damages along the <br />Rio Grande in 1985 is one more example of the difficulty <br />Coloradans are having adjusting to floods. <br /> <br />Vulnerability to natural flooding in the Rio Grande Valley <br />is not widely recognized. At least nine large magnitude floods <br />have been recorded since settlement of the Upper Rio Grande <br />Valley began in the mid 1850' s . The recent flooding, which <br />caused damage on the order of $1.6 million in Rio Grande and <br />Alamosa Counties, was not an uncommon or unpredictable <br />hydrological event. <br /> <br />j <br />! <br /> <br />It has been estimated that average annual flood damages <br />to the community of 23,000 people living along the Rio Grande <br />in Rio Grande and Alamosa Counties amount to at least $350,000 <br />per year. <br /> <br />'rhe cities and counties along the <br />more emphasis on the non-structural <br />reduce potential flood damages. <br /> <br />Rio Grande need to place <br />measures available to <br /> <br />Since the 1940's, piecemeal construction of levees on the <br />Rio Grande has been based on an underestimation of the hazard. <br />Maintenance of the levees and clearance of the channel of <br />willows has been minimal or non-existent, The combination of <br />these factors has lead to an increase in the potential for <br />catastrophe in the 1980's. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Levees should be considered as nothing more than dams that <br />parallel the stream rather than cross it. If they are the <br />chosen solution, they need to be high enough, long enough, <br />strong enough, and inspected on a regular basis. Cities and <br />towns protected by levees need to budget for their annual <br />maintenance. Spreading the costs of years of neglect or <br />ignorance among the populace through taxes for disaster relief <br />or through insurance premiums is a costly option, <br /> <br />Recognition and avoidance of flood hazard is the key to <br />controlling the increasing costs of floods. Better attention "j, :(). <br />to appropriate land use, subdivision of landJ--cognizant of -~~ <br />natural hazards, elevation of homes, tax incentives, and the <br />relocation of existing properties out of flood prone areas are <br />some of the more popular non-structural measures now recognized <br />as the most cost-effective means to reduce flood losses. <br /> <br />iii <br />