WSPC07654

• File Number: 8200.300.20
• Description: Colorado River-Colorado River Basin-Colorado River Basin Legislation-Law-Federal
• State: CO
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 8/1/1989
• Title: CR Colorado River Floodway Protection Act-Corres Reports etc-1987-89-Report of Colorado River Floodway Task Force
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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A principal objective of the Task Force was to establish
recommended design cr i tee ia (technical methodology) and
mapping procedures to be used in determining tributary flood
flows and the boundaries of the Colorado River Floodway which
reflect a realistic one-in-one hundred year river flow and
not arbitrar i1y assume that flood inflo....s from all
tributaries occur simultaneously. A special technical
subcommittee of the Task Force ....as formed to develop the
recommended methodology ....h ich i nvol ved par t ic i pat ion of
federal, state, and local agencies and private engineering
consultants. The recommended Flood.....ay design criteria are
based on the latest state-of-the-science and are presented
in Appendix F of this report. The tributary flood flows
study and the methodology for determining the Floodway
boundaries are documented in detail in supporting technical
reports.

As set forth in the Congressional findings of Public Law
99-450, there is a need for coordinated federal, state,
tribal, and local action to establish and maintain an
effective Floodway. Many of the other recommendations of the
Task Force are aimed at providing for the expeditious
implementation of the Floodway and a long term program for
its maintenance, both through physical improvements and
maintenance and through more effective coordinated land use
and development planning and flood plain management. In some
cases, this will require additional legislation and
author i ty.

In other cases, the recommendations call for studies to
establish priorities for improvements to maintain the
Floodway or the development of specific information needed
for effective flood plain management, such as the
identification of high ground water level problem areas
associated with a Floodway elevation flow and possible
mi tigation measureS. Completion of some of.. the recommend~d
activities will require Congressional appropriatioPls. With
regard to federal appropriations, it is stronqly recommended
that Congress continue to provide sufficient annual fundin9>-
in the federal budget for .a.the full operation and maintenance
of the National we-ather Service's Colorado River Flood
Warning System, a real-time hydrometeorologic~l-data networ.k
and computer data management system established by the
Congress and installed in 1984 and 1985 to provid~ for mor~
effective river manag~ment. -

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The Task Force also recommends that comoensation ShOUld]
be recommended in specific cases of extraordinary hardshi1'
resulting from impacts of the 1983-high Colorado River flowS"
on property outside of the F100dway which could no~

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