FLOOD03000

• County: Statewide
• Stream Name: South Platte
• Basin: South Platte
• Title: Water and Related Land Resources Management Study Volume V - Appendix H
• Date: 7/14/1980
• Prepared For: South Platte and Tributaries
• Prepared By: CWCB
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Mitigation/Flood Warning/Watershed Restoration

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Adverse impacts include the Federal investment for construc-

tion of additional flood storage on Lowry Air Force Base; land

value for the 461 acres of Air Force land needed for construc-

tion; non-Federal costs for downstream channel improvements and

upstream drainage improvements; and Federal and non-Federal costs

for operation, maintenance, and replacement.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACCOUNT (EQ)

The EQ account, presented in table 8, includes measures of EQ

enhancement, EQ degradation, and EQ destruction. Little environ-

mental enhancement would occur with the plan. Short stretches

along the existing channel downstream from Kelly Road Dam would

be acquired for the construction of an open, grass-lined channel.

This would preserve small areas of potential habitat.

The channel improvements in other short stretches along the

existing channel would cause the removal of a few trees and

localized sections of understory. Removal of vegetation would

degrade the wildlife habitat and esthetics of the area. A large

portion of the area involved, however, would not be extensively

degraded, because most of the l.6-mile stretch has already been

degraded by urban development. The creek is very nearly dry much

of the time and the channel is inclosed in conduit in many places.

The aquatic resources, therefore, are severely limited. The

removal of vegetation could cause slightly higher water tempera-

tures, decrease the oxygen content, and destroy some aquatic

biota. This effect would, however, not be significant.

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Because selected areas of the streambank and adjacent vegeta-

tion would be destroyed, small mammals such as mice, shrews,

voles, ground squirrels, fox squirrels, and cottontail rabbits

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