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The Myth of the Du~outs CHAPTER V HYDROLOGIC A~ALYSIS Finally, in our se4rch for flood history in Erie. we were told of the "dugouts". They are connected with some of the earli.est of Erie's Ioeal legends. We ~ere led to believe by one old tlmer43 that, after a particu- larly large flood in Erte's past, several people who had been flooded out temporarily moved to the top of the hill on the east bank of Coal Creek. It was implied that the depressions, known locally as the dugouts, were formed a. a result of excavations for basements and in preparing founda- tions for new homes. I I i I I I I i I The flood discharges used in this study were developed hy the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) - Reference No.1. The scope of this study included a brief review of the SCS hydrologic analysis to determine if the discharges should be increased to account for year ZOOO basin condi- tions. An independent detailed hydrologic ~nalysis was not included as part of the engineering service for this study. After this review, it was determined that the SCS flood discharges adeq~ately reflected the potential year 2000 basin conditions and thus adjustments to the existing hydrologic analysis were not justified. This notion is given some credence in the following account, which appears in the book Erie: Yesterday and Today; There was a French settlement in the north part of Eric where the Alaux and Jabot families lived. A flood in this atea of town destroyed their homes. and4~hey ~ere forced to move into other areas of the town. The flood diSCharges used 1n this study Sre presented in Table-3. The diSCharge. fluctuate slightly along the study reach d~e to the changes in floodplain storage and drainage area. It is not known tf "other area.." reters to the dugouts or not. Inany event, tho authors of th~ bo<.>k indicate that the dugouts were probably formerly occupied by Indians.45 ~hich suggests their creation may not b~ flood related or th"t the original inhSbit,,,,ts had a better u"der"talldin~\ of floodplain m,u\sgement thsrI the white roan. The use of tlw dugout' i.n the ZOth century is best summarized by the following statement from the above sOurce: TABLE-] PEAK FLOOD DISCHARGES, COAL CREEK A1t"~ethcr about" dozen ["mUtes livcd he<c to tile,;<' dugouts but all moved out as soon as they could prepare or find houscs olsowherc.~6 LOCATION Q10 Q" Q50 '"", QSOO (efs) (cis) (cfs) (cts) {cfs) 6110 8ZZ0 10030 IZ21>0 18400 6160 8210 10040 12280 18380 6100 8t50 9990 12230 18340 5050 8100 9940 1Z2{Ju 18350 ", . onservatlons with Joe Fletcher, Erie re.ident, 1980. Upstream Limit of Study Briggs Street KenoshaRoad 44 " SOC10,<lgy and Ilistory Gld.%~. of Erie Hi"" School, Edilton Z, page 48. 45..... ",1y. Edition l,page lZ. Dowr.stream Limit lItCunfluencC',,,,ith Boulder Cre"k 40..... lvly. -]7- -38-