BOARD00021

• Board Meeting Date: 7/12/1965
• Description: Minutes
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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cost was something like five or six million
dollars. The only major flood of record on
the Bijou happened in 1935. Therefore, the
channelization of the Bijou into the Narrows
\-las eliminated under the present plan. However,
had the project been constructed as originally
planned, there would have been very little dam-
age in the Fort Morgan area or bel~l.

As a result of o~r recent meetings with the
Corps and the Bureau, the Corps is taking an-
other look at the Bijou situation. There are
three possibilities. One is either individual
control of the Bijou by itself without any
reference to Narrows; another is to channel it
into the Narrows as was originally contemplated;
the third one is a combination of control on
the Bijou and channelization into the Narrows.
One of the three plans should be adopted to
take care of the Bijou. V1e now have the recent
flood to bring the benefits up considerably as
far as flood control is concerned.

The total damages in Colorado have not
yet been assessed, but they will undoubtedly
exceed $l50 million. The loss of life is
not yet fully known because there are some
people still missing. We believe they were
drowned but their bodies have not yet been
found. The death loss will probably be about
twenty persons.

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The Corps is accelerating its studies on
the Bijou to i:he end that it can :ldvise the
Bureau of Reclamation as to the most feasible
plan. It may be a part of the Narrows or it
may not, this we do not know yet. The one
thing we do know is that the Bijou must be
controlled.

I might add a rather interesting footnote.
~re've had trouble with the Narrow~ Project, as the
Board members recall. There has. been considerable
opposition to the construction of that project.
Right after the flood, letters to the editors
flooded in. One of the people on our Steering