FLOOD04360 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

, that any main stem reservoir with sufficient capacity to properly regulate large floods would inundate large acreages of valuable val ley farmland and require expensive highway and rai Iroad relocations. The addition of conservation storage for irrigation and water supply could not be justified because these needs wi I I be satisfied to al I practical I imits by the authorized Pueblo Reservoir. Furthermore, since any reservoir would be empty or nearly so a large share of the time, hydro- electric power production would not be feasible. 47. The possibi I ities of constructing multiple-purpose reservoirs on the tributaries which join the Arkansas River between the Pueblo dam site and Las Animas also were studied. It was determined that none would be economically justified. There are eight principal tributaries entering the Arkansas River within this reach. The largest of these, in terms of contributing drainage areas, are the Huerfano and Apishapa Rivers and Horse Creek. Dams constructed on these three tributaries near their confluence with the Arkansas River would control about 45 percent of the contributing drainage area and reduce the flood poten- tial at Las Animas to tolerable limits. However, the flood control benefits would be derived principally from the reduction of damages along the Arkansas River and would be insufficient to support the cost of the reservoirs. Storage for other purposes, including irri- gation, water supply, power, and recreation would not be feasible tor the same reasons which preclude main stem reservoir development. 48. The comprehensive basin plan for water resources development along the main stem of the Arkansas River below Pueblo includes local protection projects at Las Animas and La Junta, and a major drainage and flood control project extending from Pueblo downstream to the Colo.-Kans. State line. The major drainage and flood control phase of the basin plan comprises a system of seven major drainage outlets with closed and open farm drains discharging into the major drains, and intermittent riverside levees and revetment works to protect the drained lands and certain other lands within the reach. The plan as envisioned includes a levee section on the right bank for the protec- tion of Las Animas and vicinity. This levee section is almost identical to the levees which constitute the major element of the Las Animas Local Protection Project recommended herein. Studies made in connection with this report prove that the Las Animas Local Protection Project can be constructed as an independent element of the compre- hensive plan for the development of water resources in the Colorado portion of the Arkansas River Basin. LAS ANIMAS AND VICINITY 49. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.- The problem area analyzed in detai I for this report includes the city of Las Animas and the surrounding agricultural area which are subject to inundation from floods on -the Arkansas River. 16