FLOOD02102 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

ARKANSAS RIVER BASIN, COLORADO, KANSAS. NEW MEXICO D23 CANADIAN RIVER BASIN, NEW MEXICO Rainfall from afternoon and evening thunderstorms over the moun- tainous parts of the Canadian River watershed during the period June 13-20, 1965, totaled as much as 13 inches. Two separate flood peaks oc- curred above Conchas Reservoir, Flood-producing rains began the evening of June 14 over the Mora River basin and in the area east of Las Vegas, These rains caused high flood peaks in the Mora River basin and on the Canadian River downstream from the Mora River. The peak discharge at the gaging stations on the Canadian River on June 15 increased from 14,800 cfs near Roy to 126,000 cfs near Sanchez. The ungaged contributing area between the stations is 720 square miles. Since the peak flow of the Mora River near Shoemaker was only 14,800 cfs, the peak flow increase !rom the ungaged area, 288 square miles in the Mora River basin below the Shoemaker station and 432 square miles in the Canyon Largo and Vermejo Creek basins, was at least 111,000 cfs. Severe flooding began the evening of June 17 in the upper reaches of the Canadian River and its tributaries. By late evening on June 18 the flood crest had reached Conchas Reservoir, and streams were again generally within their banks. Storms and runoff were such that tributary peak dis- charges nearly coincided with the main floodwave as it progressed down- stream. All four gaging stations on the Canadian River were destroyed by the floods, CANADIAN RIVER ABOVE CONCHAS RESERVOIR The peak discharge on the Canadian River near Hebron was 62,400 cfs on June 17. It was the greatest discharge in the 19-year period of record and probably exceeded that ofthe 1942 flood, when the river reached a stage of about 26 feet. The gaging station near Taylor Springs is at the head of the Canadian River gorge, which is 300 feet wide and over 60 feet deep at this point. The flood barely topped the canyon walls, and the constriction created a temporary lake 2 miles long and over half a mile wide. Near Roy the peak of 172,000 cfs washed out the gage and overtopped the bridge and roadway downstream. The Mora River probably contributed less than 2,000 cfs to the flood peak of 145,000 cfs on the Canadian River near Sanchez on June 18. The flood peaks of June 17 and 18 on the Canadian River exceeded those of June 15 and also exceeded those of the outstanding flood of September 1904. Conchas Reservoir stored the entire runoff during the flood periods. Contents increased from 109,000 acre-feet on June 13 to 323,000 acre-feet on June 20 and to 352,000 acre-feet at spillway level by June 29. Maximum inflow rates were 110,000 cfs at 1000 hours on June 15 and 124,000 cfs at 1800 hours on June 18, No flooding occurred along the Canadian River downstream from Conchas Dam.