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<br />Type III distribution (Reference 8). The entire period of record <br />was not used because Blue Mesa Dam, completed in 1965, <br />significantly affects downstream flows. The results of flood flow <br />frequency analysis performed for the period 1966 to 1985 are shown <br />in Table 2. <br /> <br />A comparison of the flood hydrographs for the Colorado and Gunnison <br />Rivers was made. It can be assumed that flood peaks on the <br />Colorado and Gunnison Rivers occur at the same time since the <br />hydrographs are nearly parallel. Thus, for study reaches <br />downstream of the mouth of the Gunnison River, the peak discharges <br />on the Colorado River are added to the flood peaks computed for the <br />Gunnison River. <br /> <br />Resul ts of hydrologic analyses for Big Salt Wash and Li t tIe Sal t <br />Wash presented in the 1976 COE Flood Hazard Information Reports <br />(References 10 and 11) were used in this study. <br /> <br />The Flood Hazard Information report for Fruita, 1976 <br />(Reference 10), di scusses the hydrologic studies conducted by the <br />COE, Sacramento District on Big Salt Wash and Little Salt Wash. <br />Because streamflow gaging information was not available for these <br />two streams, the COE derived unit hydrographs by the S-graph <br />method, based on an S-graph developed for Rifle Creek at Rifle. A <br />Standard Project Storm was developed for the washes from a <br />compilation of precipitation records. The Standard Project Storm <br />is defined as the storm resulting from the most severe combination <br />meteorological conditions that are considered reasonably <br />characteristic of the geographical area in which the stream basin <br />is located. The Standard Project Storm was centered over the <br />enti re Li t tIe Sal t Wash bas in and the Standard Pro ject Flood was <br />derived from it. Using frequency curves developed for other <br />regional drainage basins similar in size to the study area <br />drainages, ratios of 100- and 500-year floods to the Standard <br />Project Flood were determined. The 1976 hydrologic studies also <br />developed information on 10- and 50-year flood events but the <br />design discharges are not listed in the report. <br /> <br />The Flood Insurance Study for Fruita (Reference 1) lists the 10- <br />and 50-year discharges for only Little Salt Wash. To determine <br />peak discharges for Big Salt Wash for these frequencies, the 100- <br />and 500-year discharges were plotted on probability paper and <br />values for the 10- and 50-year floods were extrapolated. <br /> <br />Peak discharge-drainage area relationships for the streams studied <br />by detailed methods are shown in Table 2. <br /> <br />3.2 Hydraulic Analyses <br /> <br />Analyses of the hydraulic characteristics of flooding <br />sources studied were carried out to provide estimates <br />elevations of floods of the selected recurrence intervals. <br /> <br />from <br />of <br /> <br />the <br />the <br /> <br />12 <br />