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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />II <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />II <br />I <br /> <br />STUDY AREA DESCRIPTION <br /> <br />Community Description <br />The Town of Rico is located in eastern Dolores County, which is bordered by San Miguel County <br />on the north, San Juan County on the east, Montezuma County on the south and the state of Utah <br />on the west. Dove Creek is the County Seat of Dolores County. The population of Rico was <br />estimated at 185 in July 1999 by the Demography Section of the Colorado Division of Local <br />Government. The area mapped in the FIRM includes the incorporation boundaries as of 1986. <br /> <br />Watershed Description <br />The Town of Rico is located in the Dolores River basin on the western slope of the Continental <br />Divide. The Dolores River is the primary stream flowing through the incorporation limits of the <br />Town, and generally flows from north to south. There are several smaller streams that flow <br />through and have their confluence point within the incorporation limits, including Silver Creek, <br />Iron Draw, Spear Creek and Sulphur Creek. The watersheds for Iron Draw, Spear Creek and <br />Sulphur creek are all less than 1 square mile, and are not included in this designation. <br /> <br />The Dolores River watershed above Rico extends from the Continental Divide south and west to <br />the town. Elevations of the watershed range from over 14,000 feet Mount Wilson to about 9000 <br />feet at the Town of Rico. The Dolores River Below Rico gaging station (09165000) is located <br />approximately 4 miles south of Rico. With the exception of the town itself, the Dolores River <br />watershed upstream of the town is generally agricultural and forested lands. <br /> <br />FloodiDl! Problems and Floodinl! Ristorv <br />Floods in the subject watersheds normally occur during late summer and early autumn and are <br />caused primarily by intense localized cloudbursts or thunderstorms. Typically, these floods have <br />high peak discharges with low volumes over short durations and there is usually a very short <br />window of opportunity for flood warning and evacuation once a major storms hits the area. Less <br />damaging floods can also result from rapid melting of mountain snowpack in the spring and early <br />summer months, especially on the Dolores River. A combination of rainfall and snowmelt can <br />sometimes prove to be the worst flooding scenario for Colorado's mountain streams. <br /> <br />According to the town, flooding is much more common on the smaller tributary streams than the <br />Dolores River. However, a devastating flood occurred in October of 1911 on both Silver Creek <br />and the Dolores River. Flood flow contained a significant amount of debris, including rocks, <br />trees and other dislodged materials. May houses and commercial buildings were destroyed, and <br />most of the railroad was either damaged or completely destroyed. <br /> <br />Previous Studies <br />No studies were completed prior to the current FIRM for the Town of Rico. However, in 1995, <br />the town contracted with Wilbur Engineering, Inc. in Durango to update the flood hazard maps, <br />documented in the report "Documentation for Hazard and Constraint Maps, Town of Rico, <br />Colorado." A detailed analysis of the Dolores River and Silver Creek was conducted. A new <br />flood hazard map was prepared during the study. The flood hazard portion of the study and flood <br /> <br />2 <br />