The Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers' (CASFM) initial organizational meeting was held on July 27, 1989 at the Colorado Water Conservation Board offices in Denver Colorado. Ideas exchanged included:  promoting public awareness, promoting professional status, legislative activities, hosting workshops, and hosting the 1991 ASFPM Annual Conference. Bylaws were adopted later that year on October 18, and the State of Colorado issued a Certificate of Incorporation a month later on November 21. The initial elected Board of Directors were:  Dan Bunting, Bill DeGroot, and Bob Kistner.  The First Annual CASFM Conference was held May 17-18, 1990 in Vail.

CASFM is an organization of professionals whose members are involved in floodplain management, flood hazard mitigation, stormwater management, the National Flood Insurance Program, and flood preparedness, warning, and recovery. CASFM has grown to be a respected voice in floodplain management practice and policy in Colorado. CASFM represent the interests of flood hazard specialists from local and state government, consulting engineers, the research community, the insurance industry, and the fields of engineering, hydrologic forecasting, emergency response, water resources, planning, and others.

The CASFM organizational meetings produced the following Policy Statements:

1    To promote those plans, projects, legislation and ordinances that reduce the threat to the health and safety of the people of Colorado due to flooding and stormwater, decrease existing flood and stormwater hazards, and mitigate future flood and stormwater damages.

2    To support comprehensive floodplain and stormwater planning by an interdisciplinary team approach that is designed to achieve optimal integration of structural and non-structural flood damage reduction techniques that are realistic, feasible, practical, and sensitive to natural system forces.

3    To promote basinwide planning for solving flooding and stormwater problems that transect political boundaries and jurisdictions.

4    To promote interstate coordination of flood damage and stormwater abatement projects, programs, and ideas.

5    To disseminate scientifically based information on floods, flood damage reduction and urban and rural stormwater management to the public and decision makers and provide for a greater awareness of risk among existing and prospective floodplain users.

6    To promote the free and open exchange of ideas between the many disciplines and special interest groups that comprise the Association.

7    To objectively review proposals for flood damage reduction and stormwater management and recommend changes to those aspects of the plan which encourage unwise use of floodprone areas which will result in greater future flood losses.

8    To encourage cooperation and coordination among all occupants of floodprone lands so that flood damage reduction techniques will not adversely impact adjacent communities and individuals.

9    To encourage more detailed mapping and study of floodprone areas including the identification of areas in the floodplain which are significantly more hazardous using specific criteria such as depth of flow, velocity, rise or any combination thereof.

10  To advance the exchange of information, concepts, and approaches for innovative techniques in flood damage reduction and stormwater management through the proper and effective coordination of activities of various agencies, Federal, state and local, involved in flood related studies or work.

11   To provide and promote training and assistance programs to aid local governments in the development of rational, long term flood damage reduction and stormwater management plans and programs.

12   To provide information in terms comprehensible by the general public.

13   To encourage the development of consistent floodplain regulations in regions of the state which have mutual concerns.

14   To encourage applied and basic research directed at understanding flood and stormwater processes and problems in Colorado.

CASFM has grown to a membership of over 700 since its formation.  Today, in our efforts to hold to the policy statements above, bi-monthly general meetings are held at different locations, usually in the greater Denver area; workshops and training classes are held several times each year; field trips occur as projects dictate; and an Annual Conference each fall. 

home