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<br />Watershed Description <br />The watersheds of interest include the Schaefer Draw basin and adjacent unnamed tributaries, which are within <br />the South Platte River basin. The South Platte River flows through Morgan County from west to east and has a <br />generally well defined main channel and floodplain. Weldona is located approximately 0.5 miles north of the <br />main channel of the South Platte River. Schaefer Draw, a left bank tributary to the South Platte, has a total <br />drainage area of about 7 square miles at its confluence with the South Platte. Two irrigation canals, the Riverside <br />Canal and the Weldon Valley Ditch, nul parallel to the South Platte and are locatl~d north of Weldona, These two <br />man-made channels complicate the basin hydrology. Historically, the ditches have spilled or breached only in the <br />more rare flood events. <br /> <br />Flooding Problems and Flooding History <br />Flooding problems in Weldona are caused by inadequate storm drainage systems, flat topography, and man-made <br />flow obstructions that block the natural drainage courses (i.e. railroad embankment, highway embankment, <br />county roads, etc.). Irrigation ditches complicate the local hydrology, and have the ability to either provide <br />beneficial or detrimental impacts depending on the situation, <br /> <br />According to a floodplain information report produced by the U.S, Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, <br />Weldona is located outside of the 100.year floodplain of the South Platte Rive'r. Floods on the tributaries in <br />Morgan County, including Schaefer Draw, normally occur during the spring and summer months from May <br />through September as a result of intense thunderstorms or large general rainstorms, <br /> <br />1997 Flood Damages (Declared Event) <br />Floodwaters from Schaefer Draw, adjacent tributaries, the Riverside Canal, and the Weldon Valley Ditch <br />damaged homes, businesses, utilities, roadways, crops, farm land, irriga.tion facilities, and vehicles. <br />Preliminary damage estimates for the Weldona area were estimated to be nearly I million dollars, <br /> <br />-13- <br />