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<br />CALIENTE CREEK <br />ALERT FLOOD WARNING <br />SYSTEM AUDIT <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br /> <br />Clark Farr <br />Kern County Engineering and Survey Services <br />Bakersfield, California <br /> <br />David C. Curtis <br />DC Consulting <br />Folsom. California <br /> <br />[ <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br /> <br />ntroduction <br /> <br />Flood History <br /> <br />The Caliente Creek watershed lies at the southern end of the Sierra <br />Nevada Mountains in Central Kern County, California. The total area of the <br />watershed is approximately 435 square miles, and mountains within the <br />watershed range in elevation from about 4,500 feet to 8,000 feet above sea <br />level. Six major floods were reported and documented during the past 45 <br />years that had estimated peak flow rates ranging from 600 cubic feet per <br />second (cfs) to about 23,000 cfs. Prior to the moderate flooding in January <br />and March of 1995, the last major flooding occurred on March 1, 1983, <br />when a peak flow of 12,800 cfs was estimated at the point where the creek <br />exits the Tehachapi Mountains and spreads out onto the San Joaquin Valley <br />floor near State Highway 58 <br /> <br />; <br /> <br />ALERT System <br /> <br />The current Caliente Creek ALERT flood warning system was constructed <br />and went on-line in September 1984, following the 1983 flood. This system, <br />designed by the California-Nevada River Forecast Center of the National <br />Weather Service (NWS), includes six precipitation gauges and one stream- <br />flow gauge. Precipitation gauge density is approximately one gauge per 72.5 <br />square miles <br />