Colorado’s stand-alone flood mitigation plan works alongside the Enhanced State Hazard Mitigation Plan and Colorado Resiliency Framework to address flooding in the state; however, municipalities lead most local flood planning and control key mitigation tools, which shapes how the state can carry out flood resilience policies and programs.
Highlights
- Colorado can be a model for integrating multiple plans and programs. Since 2004, Colorado has incorporated updates to its flood plan into the Enhanced State Hazard Mitigation Plan. Since 2007, the flood plan has aligned with the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, serving as an official annex to the Enhanced State Hazard Mitigation Plan
- Colorado’s flood plan mirrors the structure of the Enhanced State Hazard Mitigation Plan, using many of the same data sources and analyses. The flood plan, however, adds details needed for effective implementation, including an extended risk assessment and priority rankings for recommended actions.
What to watch
- Recently, Colorado has increased cooperation between departments and agencies and coordinated the development of the Enhanced State Hazard Mitigation Plan and the linked flood plan. The state is also incorporating criteria from the Colorado Resiliency Framework into the flood plan and as decision-making criteria for how to spend FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance funds.
