SOUTH FORK — The Rio Grande County pre-hazard mitigation team is working with Congressman John Salazar and the Army Corps of Engineers to gather support to remap the Rio Grande River through the county.

Todd Wright, emergency manager for Rio Grande County, believes that this is the most urgent project discussed at the pre-hazard mitigation meeting.

Remapping the area could take more than five years and cost around $500,000, but Wright believes a good portion of that cost could be covered by grants and other federal sources.

Teams from around the San Luis Valley recently met to prepare a general appendix for their regional pre-hazard mitigation plans.

Before the meeting the teams had established what they believed were the most important actions to take for their county.

They decided how to best avoid damage to people and property in the event of a natural hazard, as well as which disasters were the most likely to occur in their particular areas.

During the meeting, the regional teams identified the six disaster situations that most urgently had to be prepared for.

They are remapping the flood-plains, drought, wildfire, emergency infrastructure, outreach and regulations for buildings, storm water and sanitary facilities.



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