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<br />The following streams were studied by detailed m~thod~: Suuth <br />Platte River, u.s. Highway 34 Levee Overflow Channel, Cache La <br />Poudre River, Sheep Draw, Ashcroft Draw, Eaton Draw, Tri-Area <br />Drainageway, Tri-Area Drainageway Overflow Channel, Coal Creek, and <br />the Big Thompson River. <br /> <br />Those areas studied by detailed methods, with the exception of Coal <br />Creek, were chosen with consideration given to all proposed <br />construction and forecasted development through 1982. <br /> <br />Approximate studies were done on the Cache La Poudre River and the <br />South Platte River in areas of Sparse development and on Idaho and <br />Crow Creeks. <br /> <br />2.2 Community Description <br /> <br />Weld County is located in northeastern Colorado and is bounded by <br />Wyoming to the north, Logan and Morgan Counties to the east, Adams <br />County to the south, and Boulder and Larimer Counties to the west. <br />Gently rolling hills form the terrain in Weld County, and primary <br />land use is for irrigated crops and cattle grazing. The major <br />industries in the county are cattle feedlots, meat processing <br />plants, and sugar beet processing plants. <br /> <br />The population of Weld County was 123,438 according to the 1980 <br />census (Reference 1). The climate in Weld County is typical of the <br />eastern plains of Colorado. The average annual precipitation <br />throughout the county is approximately 12.3 inches, and the mean <br />annual temperature is approximately 480 F (Reference 2). <br /> <br />The South Platte River detailed study reach is approximately 8.7 <br />miles long. The river flows northeast in a relatively well-defined <br />channel from 300 to 600 feet wide and from 6 to 8 feet deep. The <br />channel, typically braided, is situated in a broad, shallow <br />flOOdplain ranging in width from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. Its sandy <br />streambed slopes at approximately 7 feet per mile throughout the <br />study reach. Coverage on the floodplain includes cottonwood trees <br />near the banks and row crops and pastureland elsewhere. <br />Residential development is sparse outside of the incorporated <br />areas. The primary underlying soil types are of the Fluvaquents- <br />Fluvents association, which are deep and poorly drained <br />(Reference 3). <br /> <br />The u.S. Highway 34 Levee Overflow Channel parallels the South <br />Platte River and u.s. Highway 34, extending approximately 0.87 <br />mile. Flooding in this area is controlled by the South Platte <br />River. <br /> <br />The Cache La Poudre River study reach is approximately 14.8 miles <br />long with a channel gradient of 7.3 feet per mile. The river flows <br />in a southeasterly direction through the county. The development <br />within the floodplain consists of agriculture-related building <br />outside of the incorporated areas. The soil types within the Cache <br /> <br />4 <br />