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<br />Those areas studied by detailed methods were chosen with consider- <br />ation given to all proposed construction and forecasted development <br />through 1990. <br /> <br />2.2 Community Description <br /> <br />The Town of Pierce is located in northwestern Weld County, in north- <br />central Colorado, approximately 15 miles north of Greeley, Colorado, <br />on u.s. Highway 85. <br /> <br />Pierce's history extends back to November 8, 1869, when the rails of <br />the Denver Pacific Railroad reached Mile Post 67 from Denver. A <br />side track was installed and named Pierce, in honor of General John <br />Pierce, the President of the Denver Pacific Railroad. A well was <br />dug to supply water for the steam engines and early homesteaders in <br />the area. The well, the railroad, and the rich farmlands provided <br />the impetus for town growth. Rumors of an irrigation ditch near <br />Pierce brought many people to settle on farms and establish businesses. <br />By 1907, the Pierce Lateral Canal was a reality, and the town was <br />booming. In addition to being an agricultural supply center, crop <br />irrigation caused Pierce to become a sugar beet collection depot <br />from which beets were shipped to the Great Western Sugar Factory in <br />Eaton. The Town of Pierce was incorporated on August 10, 1918, and <br />has since seen a slow, but steady growth. u.s. Bureau of the Census <br />figures indicated populations of 327, 372, 452, and 979 persons in <br />1920, 1950, 1970, and 1976, respectively (References 1, 2, and 3). <br /> <br />The mean annual temperature in Pierce is approximately 50oF; the <br />mean annual precipitation is 12.0 inches (Reference 4). <br /> <br />Spring Creek is an intermittent stream which flows through the <br />eastern part of Pierce in a southeasterly direction. In the narrow, <br />96.S-square mile basin, which extends southeast from the Laramie <br />Mountains in southern Wyoming down to Pierce, Spring Creek has cut a <br />meandering channel in gently rolling hills through pasturelands and <br />croplands. From Rowe Avenue south to Main Street, the channel is <br />approximately 30 feet wide and from 2 to 9 feet deep. Its gravelly <br />streambed has an average slope of 32 feet per mile. The overbank <br />areas are covered with sage brush, natural grasses, and non-irrigated <br />crops. <br /> <br />The primary underlying soils types in Pierce are of the Nunn-Dacono- <br />Altvan Association, which contains soils that have moderately fine <br />to fine texture, moderate to severe swelling potential, low infiltra- <br />tion rates at saturation, and are subject to floOding. <br /> <br />Residential dwellings make up the main development in the flood <br />plain. <br /> <br />3 <br />