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<br />. <br /> <br />Fossil Creek Hydrology <br /> <br />GENERAL <br /> <br />This section describes the hydrologic studies for Fossil Creek, a <br /> <br /> <br />tributary of the Cache la Poudre River located south of Fort Collins, <br /> <br /> <br />Colorado. Discharges for the 10-, 50-, 100-, and SOO-year floods were <br /> <br /> <br />developed for existing and projected urbanized conditions. <br /> <br />BASIN DESCRIPTION <br /> <br />Fossil Creek, a right-bank tributary to the Cache la Poudre River, <br /> <br /> <br />has its source downstream from the southern end of Horsetooth Reservoir. <br /> <br /> <br />A map of the Fossil Creek basin is shown on plate 2. Flowing in a <br /> <br /> <br />general easterly direction from its source, Fossil Creek crosses U.S. <br /> <br /> <br />Highway 287 approximately 3 miles south of Fort Collins. From U.S. <br /> <br /> <br />Highway 287, Fossil Creek flows in a southeasterly direction to Fossil <br /> <br /> <br />Creek Reservoir, then east to its confluence with the Cache la Poudre <br /> <br /> <br />River. Fossil Creek has a total drainage area of about 32 square miles <br /> <br /> <br />and a contributing drainage area of about 29 square miles. Elevations <br /> <br /> <br />in the basin range from 4790 feet to 5930 feet above mean sea level. <br /> <br />EXISTING STRUCTURES <br /> <br />There are six major structures in the Fossil Creek basin. The <br /> <br /> <br />largest, Fossil Creek Reservoir, is used for irrigation. Although the <br /> <br /> <br />reservoir does not have a specific flood control function, it provides <br /> <br /> <br />some residual flood control effects downstream. Runoff generated from <br /> <br /> <br />the relatively small drainage areas upstream from Nelson Reservoir, Mud <br /> <br /> <br />Lake, Duck Lake, Robert Benson Lake, and Portner Reservoir was assumed <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />23 <br />