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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />the fairgrounds, the channel is natural, with heavy growths of sage in and adjacent to the <br />channel. In two places, small dams have been constructed across the channel to form <br />ponds. Four culverts presently are in place on Sulphur Creek, which severely restrict the <br />channel capacity. <br /> <br />HISTORIC FLOODING <br />The Town of Meeker and adjacent areas included in this study are subject to <br />periodic flooding from the White River and Sulphur Creek, and from runoff from the <br />Sanderson Heights area. The differing nature of the watersheds and streams subjects the <br />area to floods of three basic types: snowmelt, ice jams and convective thunderstorms. In <br />the past, spring runoff due to melting snow in the high mountain watershed above Meeker <br />has caused the highest water levels in the White River for the longest periods of time. Ice <br />jams, caused by Chinook winds melting snow at higher elevations and temperature <br />inversions freezing the water at obstacles in the river, have also occurred in the White <br />River in and near Meeker. Periodic floods on Sulphur Creek occur from melting snow, but <br />convective thunderstorms also cause frequent and high runoff flows of short duration. <br />A gaging station has been recording stream flows "at" or "near" Meeker from 1901 <br />through 1906 and from 1910 to the present. To be exact, the records indicate the station <br />was located "at" Meeker from May 1901 to October 1906 (6 years) and from May 1910 to <br />October 1913 (4 years). 'The station was moved to a point "near" Meeker on October 20, <br />1913. The present location "near" Meeker is approximately 2-1/2 miles upstream from the <br />original site. <br />The total period of record is 73 years through water year 1977. Continuous records <br />began August 14, 1910. Peak flows for water years 1901 through 1906 are partial records <br />since only daily averages were apparently read and recorded for the months of April <br />through October. The records show that the largest yearly peaks occur in the late Spring <br />and early Summer with periods of high runoff from melting snow lasting from 2 to 3 <br /> <br />-4- <br /> <br />months. The largest recorded annual flood occurred on June 16, 1921, from melting snow. <br />Damage resulting from that flood consisted of inundation of low lying meadowland <br />adjacent to the White River and a washed out culvert bridge. <br />The following list of historic peak flood discharges over 4,500 cfs was compiled <br />from records at the White River Gage near Meeker: <br /> <br />Year Date Peak Discharge (cfs) <br />1884 June - July not recorded <br />1897 May not recorded <br />1901 May 21 5,000 <br />1912 June 9 4,800 <br />1917 June 22 4,940 <br />1921 June 16 6,370 <br />1929 May 26 4,550 <br />1952 June 11 5,200 <br />1957 June 30 5,220 <br /> <br />The Meeker newspapers, on microfilm at the Colorado Historical Society, were <br />researched for flooding accounts close to the above dates of recorded peak flows. The <br />following is a sample of flood-related stories as reported by the local press. The <br />photographs, figures 1 through 4, are from the Wildhack Collection, courtesy of the <br />Colorado Historical Society. <br /> <br />From "The Meeker Herald" <br />Saturday, May 22, 1897 <br />"The river will be higher this year than since '84". <br />"This section, and in fact the entire valley so far as we could learn, was visited by <br />heavy rains Wednesday and yesterday. It rained nearly all day yesterday". <br />