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<br />'. <br /> <br />'. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />STUDY AREA DESCRIPTION <br /> <br />Community Description <br /> <br />Prowers County is located in the eastern plains of southern Colorado. Lamar is the county seat and <br />the population center of Prowers County and is located approximately 110 miles east of Pueblo. <br />The population of the county is currently about 13,300, while the population of Lamar is about <br />8,300. State Highway 50 is the major east-west highway that passes through the northern part of <br />Prowers County and Lamar. Prowers County is bounded by Kiowa County to the north, the State <br />of Kansas to the east, Baca County to the south, and Bent County to the west. The area studied for <br />the FHBM is the unincorporated areas ofProwers County as of July 12, 1977, <br /> <br />Watershed Description <br /> <br />The Arkansas River flows through Prowers County and through or near the towns of Lamar, <br />Granada, Holly, and Carlton, John Martin Reservoir is located on the mainstem of the Arkansas <br />River to the west of Prowers County in Bent County. The reservoir was constructed by the Corps <br />of Engineers and was completed in October of 1948, The reservoir project is a part of the <br />comprehensive plan for the control of floods and the development of water resources in the <br />Arkansas River Basin, The reservoir provides for conservation and recreation purposes, and <br />supplies water to irrigated lands in both Colorado and Kansas. There are several large tributaries <br />that join the Arkansas River within Prowers County, such as Big Sandy Creek, Clay Creek, Two <br />Butte Creek, and Wild Horse Creek. All of those tributaries join the Arkansas River downstream <br />of John Martin Reservoir. <br /> <br />Floodine: Problems and F100dine: Historv <br /> <br />Flooding in Prowers County generally occurs during the summer months as a result of flooding <br />from general rainstorms or severe thunderstorms, General rainfall flooding is characterized by high <br />peak flows with a large volume over a moderate duration, Thunderstorms, sometimes lasting for <br />several hours, can cause high peak flows with a smaller volume over a short duration. Flooding is <br />more severe when antecedent rainfall has resulted in saturated ground conditions. <br /> <br />There have been numerous floods in the past on the Arkansas River and its tributaries in Prowers <br />County. In 1965, large flood flows occurred downstream of the John Martin Dam. Inflows from <br />the south bank tributaries between the dam and Holly produced unprecedented flow in the Arkansas <br />River between Lamar and Great Bend, Kansas. On June 17, 1965 the Arkansas River peaked at an <br />estimated 200,000 cfs at Holly. Wild Horse Creek peaked at 10,600 cfs and Two Butte Creek <br />peaked at 182,00 at the town of Holly during that same storm. Flood flows along Willow Creek <br />caused damage to homes and other features in Lamar during 1965 as well. A peak flow of 22,000 <br />cfs was estimated on Wild Horse Creek on August 28, 1935, largely as a result of an upstream dam <br />failure. Wolf Creek flooded the town of Granada during June of 1949 and again during June of <br /> <br />2 <br />