FLOOD02643

• County: Denver
• Community: Northeastern Colorado
• Stream Name: South Platte and Tributaries
• Basin: South Platte
• Title: Post Flood Report South Platte Floods of May-June 1973
• Date: 7/1/1974
• Prepared For: State of Colorado
• Prepared By: US Army Corps of Engineers
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Documentation Report

tributaries are oceupied by the cdty of Lincoln, by smaller
rural communities, and by highly productive agricultural lands.
Between 1963 and 1969, 10 dants m!re (~onstructed in the Salt
Creek basin by the Corps of J;:ngineers. This system of dams has
a combined flood-control sto~age capnc ity of 138, 710 acre-fl~et
and provides a high degree Of flClOd protection for Lincoln CLOd
its environs. The Salt Valll!!Y ~Lsin was neither affected bJr
nor did it contribute to high stfLges on the Platte River dw~ing
the May-June 1973 flood.

10. OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES

a. Bureau of.Reclamation. Within the North Platte River
basin, a number of reservoirs have been built by the Bureau of
Reclamation for irrigation and h:irdroelectric power. Upstrel~m
from Casper, Wyoming, the Bureau has constructed Seminoe, Kortes,
Pathfinder, Alcova, and Gray Ree:r Reservoirs, known as the
"upper system." These reservoir,; haye a total storage capacity
of 2,217,500 acre-feet, none of 'Which is exclusively for flood
control. Downstream from Casper, the Bureau has also const~ructed
Glendo and Guernse>J Reservoirs, known as the "lower system", with
a total storage ca:f8city of 840,000 acre-feet.. Glendo Reservoir
has 219,000 acre-feet of its sto:rage capacity reserved exclusively
for flood-ccntrol storage. 'l'his storage, along with the incidental
control of the other reservoirs in the basin, has effectively
reduced the occurrlence of major flooding along the main stem of
the North Platte River.

b. In the South Platte River basin, the Bureau has two
authorized multiple-purpose storage projects identified as the
"Upper South Platt.e Unit" and the "Narrows Units." The 'I."wo Forks
Reservoir of the Upper South Platte Unit will have an estimated
flood-control storage capacity of 115,000 acre-feet. The project
will be located on the South Platte Hiver about 7 miles upstream
fran the Corps of Engineers' Chatfield Dam and Lake. The Narrows
Unit Dam wi-;'l be located on the SCluth Platte River about '7 mj,les
upstream from Fort, Morgan. This pro,ject will have a total storage
capacity of 973,185 acre-feet, of which 475,000 acre-feet will be
exclusively for flood-control. Environmental impact statements
for the two projects are being reE~va.luated and may entail some
project reformulation studies priClr t.o initiation of construction.

d. Department of Ap;ricultur'~. The Soil Conservation Service,
Department of Agriculture, has several ccmpleted or authori,zed
watershed projects in the Colorad() portion of the South Pla,tte
River basin. The Frankton-Parke.r project., in the upstream and

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