Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Gage readings at the Gunnison River near Somerset Gage, Hydrologic <br />Unit 14020004 (period of record: 1897-1933, 1934 to present day), <br />and North Fork near Paona Gage (period of record: 1922 to 1932), <br />indicate flood damage along the North Fork Gunnison River and the <br />Gunnison River in 1928, 1929, 1932, 1957, 1973, 1974, 1984, and <br />1985. <br /> <br />Generally speaking, most streams in Western Colorado have experi- <br />enced high peak-runoff rates during years of high temperature, <br />combined with snowpacks containing high water content, usually <br />occurring in May. An exception to this has been in the San Juan <br />Mountains, where rainstorms have produced peak flows. <br /> <br />Flooding problems near the City of Gunnison are aggravated by the <br />restriction of drainage channels by vegetation growth and accumu- <br />lated debri s. <br /> <br />2.4 Flood Protection Measures <br /> <br />During the fall of 1970 and summer of 1971, the U. S. Bureau of <br />Reclamation, in cooperation with the COE, completed a clearing and <br />snag removal program. This program was primarily confined to the <br />area above the water level of the Blue Mesa Reservoir and Tomichi <br />Creek. <br /> <br />The construction of the Taylor Park Reservoir near Taylor Park <br />(completed in September 1937) has reduced the peak flows approxi- <br />mately 28 percent near Taylor Park on the Gunnison River, although <br />its primary function is to supply water for irrigation purposes. <br /> <br />Paonia Dam and Reservoir, a multiple-purpose project built by the <br />U.S. Water and Power Resources Service on Muddy Creek, just <br />upstream from the junction of Muddy Creek and Anthraci te Creek, <br />became operational in 1961. Affording 21,000 acre-feet of storage <br />capacity, the facility is operated by the North Fork Water Conser- <br />vancy District to provide flood control during periods of high <br />snowmelt runoff. <br /> <br />Other than the aforementioned structures, there is very little <br />natural or man-made flood protection within Gunnison County. <br /> <br />3.0 ENGINEERING METHODS <br /> <br />For the flooding sources studied by detailed methods ln the community, <br />standard hydrologic and hydraulic study methods were used to determine <br />the flood hazard data required for this Flood Insurance Study. Flood <br />events of a magnitude which are expected to be equaled or exceeded once <br />on the average during any 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year period <br />(recurrence interval) have been selected as having special significance <br /> <br />6 <br />