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CHAPTER IV HISTORY OF FLOODING From ~he "COW;TY SEAT NEWS-TRIBUNE" Friday, A~gust 4, 1933 Historical streamflow rccords have not been collected for ~he Running Creck b3sin since normal discharge ~s small. Actual floodflow measurements for the area are generally limited to major flows on Cherry Creek and Kiowa Creek. Therefore, descriptions of flood flows On Running Creek ar~ qualita- tive ~n nature. Information on past flood events is based on interviews with long time residcnts of the area, discussions with town and co~nty offici41s, newspaper accounts, and published flow dat~ for adjacent streams. , I I I , , I KLOWA BIG FLOOD IMMEN5EDO~POUR SWEEPS CHERRY CREEK DISTRICT MayZl,1878 July 28, 1922 August 2-3, 1933 May 30-31, 1935 AugustS, 1945 J,,1y30, 1957 June 17, 1965 May 6, 1973 The heavy rain Wedne~day nigh~ was not an unmixed benefit,prac- tically every watercourse in the county reached de.tructive flood proportion. It is net possible at thi_ time to state the number bridge. either tetall:; destroyed or temporarily impassible. It is definitely kncwn thut three brid ges onCo..anche Creek are "out" snd the bridge here over Kiowa Crcek lost its west approach. The Main Street is in bad condi- tionby w"8hes: se'feralcell<lrs in the lower part of town were flooded... Castlewood Dsm burst through its wall at midnight Wednesday when a cloud-bur~t O'fer the water- shed ubeve sent a crushing force of water into the lake, The re- sulting flood created havoc throughout Cherry Creek valley. Livesteck less". down the vulley were heavy. K. D. Wilson, whos" ranch ianear the mouth ofCnat- lewood canon, lost 10 hogs and 12 head of cattle. Numerous hay stucks were carried away... Flow dats for Kiowa Creek and Cherry Creek, whiCh is published in a number of U.S. Geological Survey water supply papers, was researched to deter- mine possible concurrent flooding dates for Running Creek. Further in'festi- gations snd interviews focused on these dates which are listed below: The moat aev~r~ floods ev~r experienced in the region occurred ~~y 30-3t, 1935. Although the most severe damage and loss of life occurred in Kiowa and Elbert, the Town of Elbabeth lost the bridge across Running Creek. The follow- ing article recounts the devastation caused by this floed. Approximately twenty different weekly newspapers have been published ~n the Eli~abeth*Elbert-Kiowa area since the early 1880'.. Many of the past issucs of thpse newspap<,rshsvebecnpreservedby the Elbert Coun tyHistorica1 Society and the Colorado lIistorical ~oclety. The nel<spaper issues published within two weeks bcfore and after the above dates I<cte researchc dtodctcrmine the severity of past fleoding along Running Creek. From the "COUNTY SEAT NEWS-TRIBUNE" Friday,May31,1935 ELBERT ~nd KIOWA SWEPT BY rLOOD 7 Lives T~ken By Dro~ninq Th~ fArm~rs also were heuvy los- ers along ~hc cre~k a~ liv~stock was flooded a...ay and the meadows covered I<ith mud and debris. The bridge at Elizabeth went cut TIlur.day aftetneon, thus cutting off traffic east of here. Friday a pontoon bridge I<as put in mak- ing crossing accessible. Appiicatien I<as made to the Red The first ~ajor recorded fleods on KiOl<a and Cherry Creeks occurred Aug~ ust 2, 1~33 and arC reported in thc following articles. Apparently, no flood dama~e occuned in lhe Elizabclh arca even though m"jor neodi",> occurred in the tl<O basi.ns adjacent to the tewn. Oncoftheworstdisascers that ever SlT"ck thiscC>Tm<lunityoc- currcd Thursday when a cloud- burst south of Elbert caused " flood to ragc through the streets of Elbert bringfng dc.- ~ruction on all sides and later alse devastating the town of Kiowa... -16- -11-