Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Obstructions to floodf1ow <br /> <br />of Agriculture under sponsorship of the Hale Soil Conservation <br />~istrict and the city of Wray. <br /> <br />There are no natural obstructions tofloodflowintlle <br />North Fork Republican R1ver flood plain through Wray. Obstru~tions <br />have been created by man's continued encroachment on the flood <br />plain. Examples of this condition are the bridges across the river <br />and millrace at Main and Adams Streets. These structures are <br />actually box culverts, wIli~h are sufficient for low water flows but <br />become inadequate during high flow periods. Th1s situat10n is <br />further aggravated by build1ngs located at the channel edges <br />forc1ng floodwaters to flow in a northeasterly direct10n down <br />Second Street. The millrace dam is a minor obstacle but is easily <br />overtopped during periods of high flow. <br /> <br />Flood warning and forecasting services <br /> <br />The following statement was furnished by the U.S. <br />Weather Bureau on flood warning services available for the North <br />Fork Republican River at Wray, Colorado: <br /> <br />Flood damage prevention measures <br /> <br />At the present time there is no specific flood <br />forecasting serv1ce for the North Fork Repub- <br />I1can River at Wray. Colorado. The area. <br />however. is within the effective range of the <br />Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR-3) facility at <br />Goodland, Kansas, Weather Bureau Office. This <br />installation provides information on location <br />of storms and areas of intense precipitation, <br />and through mass news media provides for broad- <br />casts of locations of poss1ble flash flooding. <br />Improvement 1n th1s pr~edure is expected with <br />the installation of the more powerful radar at <br />Limon, Colorado. This radar, which is sched- <br />uled for operation in about two years, will <br />provide continuous information on precipitation <br />intensity and storm location and movement. and <br />a better coverage of the area for flash flood <br />warning. <br /> <br />Planned effective flood damage prevention measures have <br />not been taken in Wray with regard to high flows occurring on the <br />North Fork Republican River. Businesses and residell~es in the <br />flood plain nave raised floors as a result of past flood experi- <br />~lIces Jnd .l:-e effectively protected fro,,; :0\; to moderate flooding. <br />but no general protective measures for extreme events have been <br />accomplished. Floodingfromsidehillrunoffinthetown,whichwas <br />a problem because of inadequate channels and watercourses to carry <br />the excess flow, has been relieved since 1961 by the completion of <br />a watershed treatment project which included six retarding dams. <br />The dams have a total capacity of 340 acre~feet and were designed <br />to control the runoff from a lOO.year storm rainfall over the <br />3.0 square mile drainage area above the structures. The uncon- <br />trolled outlets through the structures were designed to limit the <br />outflow to the downstream channel capacities. The project was <br />"",,v",,'upeul;>y the::'o'il l:onservation Service of the Department <br /> <br />FloodsHuation <br /> <br />Gaqinq station~. ReCords are ava11able for two gaging <br />stations maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey on the North Fork <br />Republican River near Wray. The Colorado-Nebraska State line sta. <br />tion located approximately 16 miles east of Wray....as established in <br />MarCh 1931 and has been operat1ng continuously since that t1me. <br />The station 1s sItuated on the r1ght bank, 100 feet east of the <br />Colorado-Nebraska State lill" ~ltj a~...t'oximately one-half mile north <br />of U.S. Highway 34. Intermittentrecordsarealsoavailab1efortlle <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />9 <br />