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<br />Historical documentation of flood damage is meager in the area of <br />the City of Lafayette and the Town of Superior. This is probably <br />due to the small stream size and lack of extensive urbanization. <br />Major flood damages in the watershed are to roads, bridges, <br />irrigation structures, and agricultural land. Duration of flooding <br />is brief, due to steep slopes and small drainage area. In general, <br />peak flows last fram 1 to 4 hours during a flooding period of 6 to <br />24 hours. <br /> <br />The following floods have been reported: The floods of 1876; 1891; <br />JUne 3, 1921; and May 26, 1935, were caused by rapid snowmelt in <br />the mountains and heavy rainfall in the area of Lafayette. A flood <br />occurred in JUne 1896 which was reported as the maximum of record <br />in the part of the valley near Louisville. The flood of <br />September 2, 1938, was caused by cloudbursts in the mountains and <br />foothills, resulting in a flood slightly higher than that of 1935. <br />Using slope area measurements, the USACE estimated the flood <br />discharges on Coal Creek near Erire to be 13,200, 7,800, and <br />3,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) in 1876, 1921, and 1938, <br />respectively (Reference 19). <br /> <br />The 1876 flood is the largest recorded at the Town of Erie and <br />approximates the 100-year recurrence interval, as determdned by the <br />SCS (Reference 19), using synthetic methods for flood routing. The <br />most recent floods in the watershed occurred on June 9, 1949; <br />May 9, 1957; and May 1969. <br /> <br />The following are recorded accounts of flood damage on Coal Creek <br />and Rock Creek: <br /> <br />September 2, 1938. "Parts of the residential area in <br />Louisville were under several inches of water, but the <br />business district was not damaged. One person was killed <br />in an automobile accident on the flooded highway east of <br />Louisville. The bridge at Empire Drive and State <br />Highway 42 was on the verge of failure, but was saved." <br /> <br />June 9, 1949. "The bridge at the junction of Coal Creek <br />and Rock Creek, 3 miles north and 1/4 mile west of Erie <br />was threatened and closed to traffic. The brige over <br />Coal Creek, 3/4 mile east of Superior, went out." <br /> <br />May 1969 . "Damage to land irrigation structures and <br />agriculture totaled approximately $75,000." <br /> <br />St . Vrain Creek flows through the City of Longment in a broad <br />channel bed of shifting sandbars bounded by banks 10 to 15 feet <br />high. Lefthand Creek, Dry Creek No.1, and Spring Gulch flow in <br />relatively steep, narrow channels. The overbanks of all the <br />streams studied are relatively flat, with the exception of the <br />north overbanks of St. Vrain Creek and Lefthand Creek, which rise <br />more steeply. <br /> <br />20 <br />