|
<br />as ISO,GOG c.f.s. A slope-area measurement on Rule Creek just bolo~
<br />),fuddyCreek:lndicatedapcak discharge of 276,000 c.f.s. ThIs large
<br />dIscharge WaS prohably due in part to the failure of Muddy Creok
<br />(Setchfie1d) Reservoir, a privately o~cd reservoir located on Muddy
<br />Creek,atributarytoRule,.Creek_
<br />
<br />the dam and water WaS backed into tho sandhills to such an oxtent
<br />that another breach occurred in.the.sandy terrain about 1,000 feet
<br />wide and 30 to 40 foet deep. .Severe damages to U.S. Highway SO,
<br />AT&SFRailway, andfal'llllands were sustained. Tonsofsandnnddehris
<br />were carried into the Arkansas valley,. covering many, acres of farmland
<br />up to six feet in depth. .
<br />27. As the flood progressed downstream through Prowers County,
<br />the flows increased with the interception. of. each additional tributary
<br />and inundated most of. the Arkansas valley, bottom. land. Near the town
<br />of Granada, Colorado, Wolf Creek contributed an estimated peak of
<br />35,000 c.f.s. Tho levees on Wolf Creek, were breached, and the town of
<br />Granada was flooded to depths of about six feet.
<br />
<br />22. The floo,lon Rule Creek caused.considerable hi.o:hway damage
<br />in a"nt County and destroyed about five Illiles af the.AT & 51' Railway
<br />branchline, which runs southeast framLas Animas to Springfield,
<br />Colorado. The land in this watershed is used for grazing. ~inor agri~
<br />cultural damages resulted from sediment deposition, erosion, and fence
<br />loss.
<br />
<br />23. John Martin Reservoir waS empty the morning of 14 June and
<br />contained over 300,000 acre-feet by the morning of 24 June. There were
<br />164,000 acre-feet stored on 18 June, which indicates an average inflow
<br />of about 82.000 c.f.s. for the 24~hour p..riod, Both the conduit and
<br />spillway .o:ates at John Martin Oam were closed at the beginning of the
<br />flood and no releases were made from the, reservoir until 6 July. The
<br />effects of the reservoir are discussed in paragraphs 58-63.
<br />
<br />28. Two Butte Cr..ek produced th.. initial floodwave that flowed
<br />into Kansas. This stream enters the Arkansas valley on the right bank
<br />just upstream from Holly, Colorado. The headwaters and tributaries of
<br />Two Butte Creek were near the center of the uost severe cell of the
<br />storm as sho\ffl on plate 4. The county road system and dryland farming
<br />area in the Two Butte watershed suffered extensive flood damage. Two
<br />Buttes Dam, owned by Two Buttes Irrigation Company, was overtopped
<br />and sustained serious damage. The peak discharge of Two Butte Creek
<br />about two miles west of U.S. Highway 287 WaS estimated at 22,000 c.f.s.
<br />Two Butte Creek entered the Arkansas River valley as a raging torrent
<br />with a peak discharge of 182,000 c.f.s. at abou~ 2 a.m, on 17 June.
<br />Flow from this tributary crossed the Arkansas R~ver and spread over
<br />tile valley. It flowed along the levee designed to conveyl\'ildHorse
<br />Creek (a left bank tributary) aroundlJolly,Colorado. Thequantityof
<br />flow destroyed the levees from U.S. Hiihway 50 to the Arkansas River
<br />andallowedthewatertoenterthetownofflolly. The business area
<br />of Holly was inundated by floodwaters from Two Butte Creek and the
<br />Arkansas River to depths of eight feet. At the height of the Arkansas
<br />River flood, about B a.m. on 17 June, the entire town was inundated.
<br />The flood required complete evacuation of the towndth a population
<br />of 1,100. The co~unity was cut off from all forms of transportation
<br />or communication for a period of about three days.
<br />29. These phenomenal floodS in Coiorado produced a maximum dis-
<br />charge estimated at about 200,000 c.f.s. in the ~rkansas Rive: at the
<br />Colorado-Kansas State line. As the flood moved ~nto Kansas, ~t covered
<br />the entire Arkansas Valley floodplain and was more than two miles wide
<br />in some reaches. The town of Syracuse, Kansas, had insufficient warning
<br />of the flood and was severely damaged. The estimated peak discharge at
<br />Syracuse was about 200,000 c.f.s. The hydrograph of the Arkansas River
<br />at Syracuse is shown on plate IS.
<br />30. The uncontrolled flow spread aCrOSS the Arkansas River valley
<br />ln western Kansas ~nundating c~ties and towns, farms, lowlands, high~
<br />ways, and railroads. The flood peak decreased as the flow moved east-
<br />ward. T,,~ flow.which peaked a~ about lOO,OOI) c. f.s. at Syracuse .was
<br />
<br />24, FLOOD CONDITIONS IN THE ARKANSAS RIlISR SUBBASIN BELOW JOHN
<br />MARTIN DAM. - Despite complete control of the Arkansas Rivor at John
<br />Martin Oam, tremendous inflow from tributaries in Bent and Prower!
<br />Counties bet~een the dam and the COlorado-Kansas State line produced
<br />llnprecedentedf1owsintheriverfromllolly, Colorado, to Great Bend,
<br />Kansas, even exceeding the uncontrolled 1921 flood. Caddoa and Mud
<br />Creeks,justbelowJohn.I1artin Reservoir, produced peaks OIl 17 June
<br />estimated at 35,000 c.f.s. and 98,000 c.f.s., respectively, which are
<br />greaterthananypreViollslyobserved. IlryCreek,jllstabovC!Lamar,
<br />Colorado, had a peal of 28,~JO c.f.s. The Arkansas River at Lamar
<br />peaked at 7a.m. on 17.JUM with a measured clischarge of 12,800 c.f.s.
<br />This flooded most of the city north of the railroad tracks. An esti_
<br />matedhydrograph of the Arkansas River at Lamar is shown on plate 14 .
<br />
<br />25. During the early mornin.o: of 17 June, Willow Creek, a normally
<br />small stream which winds its way through the Lamar City Park, discharged
<br />an estimated peak of 24.!I';)O c.f.s. The Willow Creek flood broke out of
<br />the channel and flowed northwest through Lamar, flooding most of the
<br />city south of the railroad tracks.
<br />
<br />26. Just below Lamar, the Colorado Game, Fish, and Parks Depart.
<br />ment was co~leting a dam on Clay Creek. Rains on the upper watershed
<br />on the night of 16 June filled the newly con.t~lcted reservoir to its
<br />capacity of about 3,000 acre-feet, and it spilled. Observers stated that
<br />during the night of the 16th wacer overflowed the confines of the re ser-
<br />voir area and backed into a sand dune area to the northwest of the da~.
<br />The following ni.o:ht (17 June) floodwaters produced n peak discharge above
<br />the reservoir of ISR,OOO c,f.s. The volume of this nmoff exceeded the
<br />design capacity of th" project and the dam ~'''S overtopped by about three
<br />feet. This res1l1t..d in abreach3."out 300 feot wido at tho leften<lof
<br />
<br />,
<br />
<br />"
<br />
|