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<br />Subsection 2.2 <br /> <br />Recent Flood Historv <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />As shown in Subsection 2.1 the Colorado River experienced significant flooding in 1983 and <br />1984. In 1993 there was also high water with minor flooding, although not nearly as much <br />as in 1983 or 1984. These historic events provide some indication of the risk of flooding at <br />the 8 ponds, so a general description of what happened on the Colorado River is given below. <br />This information was correlated to flood frequencies by examining the measurements made <br />at the gaging stations along the Colorado River with basin hydrology. Those quantitative <br />correlations are provided in Table 2 below. Then the general descriptions for the three floods <br />on the Colorado River will be given. Individual descriptions of the flooding at each pond <br />site are included in each of the site reports in Section 5. <br /> <br />TABLE 2 <br /> <br />ESTIMATED FREQUENCY OF RECENT FLQODS <br /> <br />Location 1983 Flood 1984 Flood 1993 Flood <br />Connected Lakes/Duke Lake 22 yr. - 25 yr. 40 yr. 2yr.-5yr. <br />30 Road Pond 22 yr. - 25 yr. 40 yr. 2 yr. - 5 yr. <br />Corn Lake 22 yr. - 25 yr. 40 yr. 2 yr. - 5 yr. <br />Island Acres Ponds 22 yr. - 25 yr. 40 yr. 2 yr, - 5 yr. <br />Parachute Pond 12 yr. - 14 yr, 40 yr, 2yr.-5yr. <br />Rifle Rest Area Pond 12 yr. - 14 yr. 25 yr. - 40 yr. 1.5 yr. - 2 yr, <br /> <br />General descriptions of flooding experienced in each of these three events, to the extent that <br />they are available, are provided below. <br /> <br />1983 Flood <br /> <br />The 1983 flood on the Colorado River was a large event; however, it was less severe <br />than the 1984 flood. It was more severe than the flood of 1993. Due to a very large <br />flow on Plateau Creek, the magnitude of the Colorado River peak flow was greater <br />from the Plateau Creek confluence downstream to the Utah stateline than it was <br />upstream of the Plateau Creek confluence (from the Cameo stream gage upstream to <br />Rifle and Glenwood Springs). Even though the magnitude of the flood was smaller <br />upstream of the Plateau Creek confluence, there was flood damage in 1983 at one of <br />the two sites in that upstream reach (Parachute Pond). Damage at three of the four <br />sites downstream of that confluence (Island Acres Ponds, Corn Lake and Connected <br />Lakes/Duke Lake) was substantial, 30 Road Pond experienced damage, but it was <br />minor. One of the effects of the 1983 flood was to render many sections of <br />streambank more vulnerable to erosion whe~ the 1984 flood came the very next year. <br /> <br />7 <br />