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. DRAFT Field Report Elbert County Flood of July 17, 2000 Whiskey Gulch and Tributaries near Elizabeth By Colorado Water Conservation Board - July 2000 Background and Storm Event On July 17, 2000 a severe storm dumped heavy rainfall on portions of western Elbert County, located within the South Platte River drainage basin in east central Colorado, A storm total precipitation of up to 4-6" of rain in about one-hour was reported by at least one landowner. The storm appeared to be centered approximately 3 to 4 miles north of the town of Elizabeth, and west of County Road]3, Several left-bank tributaries to Running Creek (Boxelder Creek) were affected by the storm, Elbert County is a large county southeast of Denver, and is located along a topographic feature known as the Palmer Divide, Elbert County stretches from just east of Franktown (on the west side) to just west of Limon (on the east side), It is bordered by Arapahoe County to the north, Douglas County to the west, El Paso County to the south, and Lincoln County to the east, . The town of Kiowa is the County Seat and has a population of 490 (Dept. of Local Affairs, 1998), while the entire county has a population of 18,639 (Dept. of Local Affairs, 1998), The economic base for the county consists mainly of agriculture, ranching, and some retail sales in the population centers, Hydrologic and Hydraulic Information The Whiskey Gulch drainage is a tributary to Running Creek (aka Boxelder Creek) located within Elbert County just north of Elizabeth, The confluence of Whiskey Gulch and Running Creek is about 500' east of CR]3, It's headwaters are situated just east of the Douglas-Elbert County line, with maximum elevations in the range of 6,700 feet. The flood producing rainfall for this event fell in approximately 1 hour with storm total point precipitation amounts of 4 to 6" (uncomfirmed at this time), Whiskey Gulch is an ephemeral stream that drains an area of just under 3 square miles, There are no available streamflow records or gaging stations within the flood area, . The only known precipitation measurement within the storm area was collected by a landowner (Western Country Ranches) having a bucket that was reported to be empty prior to the storm event. The landowner does not specifically use the device to measure rainfall, The reported storm total amount from this gage was 6" in about an hour (very localized), however the landowner was not interviewed by CWCB staff at the time of the site visit. It is unknown if the bucket was cylindrical or tapered, nor is it known if the bucket was located in an open area at the time of the storm, NWS doppler radar indicated a band of strong thunderstorms in the vicinity with flood producing potential. Radar estimated storm total precipitation was on the order of 2- 3",