WSP08574

• File Number: 8141.100
• Description: Fryingpan-Arkansas Project - Project Description
• State: CO
• Basin: Arkansas
• Date: 1/1/1969
• Author: US DoI BoR
• Title: Flood Control Fryingpan-Arkansas Project Eastern Slope Features
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Project Overview

6. In addition to theabove-de~cribed major improvements and ex-
,f. ., _ n elusive of emergency repairs during floods, the Corps c;;f Engineers con-
~.4V structed 16 emergency flood' control projects prior to 1965 in the Arkansas
River Basin in Colorado at a total Federal cost of about $494,000. These
consisted of snagging and channel clearing, emergency bank protection,
emergency repairs t,o existing flood control works, and flood fighting
operations. ,Most of 't,he work was dOn.e.in or near ci ths,and towns, '
including Las .a.nimas..,' Federal' costs !varied from apout$4,000 to about;
$75,000. Furthermore; the Corps of~ngineers, expended about $277,000 '
on flood emergency operations and re~abilitation of damaged flood con-
trol facilities fOllowing the 1965 fiood in the Arkansas River Basin in
Colorado. This work was' accomplishe~ under authority of Public Law 99.
The Corps also collaborated with the'Office of Emergency Planning in'
carrying out provisions of Public LaW 87,5. " '""

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7. ' The only other Federal agency that has completed wat~r r~sources.
improvements in the Arkansas River B~sin in Colorado, other than those
of an emergency nature, is the Soil ~onservation Service. This agency,
in addition to th~regular land treatment program carried on through
organized, soil' conservation district~, has constructed or contemplates
construction of a number of floodwater retarding structures under the
watershed program authorized by the Watershed Protection and Flood Pre-'
vention Act (Public Law 566, as amended). In the upper watershed of
Big Sandy Creek above Limon, 14 structures have been completed. Three
retardation dams have been completed! on Limon Creek, a tributary to the
Big Sandy. Two structures have been! completed in the Fishers peak-
Carbon Arroyos watershed near Trinid~d. Part of the city is included in
the project area and will benefit by! the protection afforded. Four
structures are planned for construction in the Vine land area about 10
miles east of Pueblo. A,plan for floodwater retarding structures and
channels on Cheyenne Creek, near the Colorado-Kansas State line, is
being prepared. ,_

8. There are rnore!han 200 small reservoirs constructed by local
interests ~in the Arkansas River Ilasfn in Colorado. These reservoirs
are primarily forirriga~ion storag~but they also provide local flood
control and domestic and,.industrial ,water supply. The largest ,of these
is the Great Plains Reservoirs syst~m, a series of off-channel reser"
voirs located northeast of John Martin Dam. This system has an aggregate
capacity of 100,000 acre_.feet. Others ,are Adobe Creek Reservoir on Adobe
Creek with a capacity of 62,000 acre-feet; Twin Lakes with a capacity of
55,000 acre-feet; Cucharas and Two Buttes Reservoirs on Cucharas River
and Two Butte Creek, each with a capacity of 40,000 acre-feet; and Horse
Creek Reservoir on Horse Creek withia capacity of 27,000 acre-feet.

9. Major flood control improvements constructed by local interests
in the Arkansas Basin are the Barri~r Dam and Pueblo Floodway. These
improvements were built on the Arkartsas River in 1924-25 by the Pueblo
Conservancy District which was organized soon after the disastrous flood
of 1921 for the purpose of providing flood protection to the city of

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