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<br />22
<br />
<br />CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY, 1937
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<br />INTRODUCTION
<br />
<br />After a month of greater than normal preoipitation, exceptionally
<br />heavy rains during the night of Kay 30-31, tollowed by moderately heavy
<br />rainfall during the next 2 days, caused the greatest flood on the Republl~
<br />can River that had occurred during a period of at l"aat 70 yeara and, Lon-
<br />d with other known tIoada of the Republl-
<br />elderlng its magnitude as compare
<br />can River, probably the greatest flood for a much longer perlod.
<br />The Republican River Valley trom the eastern part of Colorado to Junc~
<br />diet.nee Of over 350 miles, was overflowed for a width
<br />tion City, Kans_, a
<br />ranging from three-quarters of a mile to 11 miles, with a 1088 of more than
<br />100 lives, the destruction of muoh livestock and most ot the buildlngs in
<br />the overflowed area, and great damage to thousands ot aores of rich farm
<br />land by deposits of sand brought down by the flood waters. Nearly all the
<br />over the river were either destroyed or rendered impassable,
<br />highway bridges
<br />and the highway along the valley was washed out in many places. On the
<br />main line of the Burlington Route from Chicago and St. Louis to Denver about
<br />40 miles of track was destroyed, and the line was aut of camnission for 3
<br />
<br />weeks.
<br />The high water in the Kansas River Valley below Junotion City, Kans.,
<br />
<br />caused primarily by the flood ot the Repu.bllcan River rather than by
<br />
<br />we.
<br />
<br />flood water from othe~ t~ibutarieB. At the time the peak of the RepUblican
<br />River flood reached Junotion City the Smoky Hill River, whioh unites with
<br />the Republican River to form the Kansas River at Junotion City, waa supply.
<br />ing leee than 8 percent of the total flow measured at Ogden, Kana., 7.6
<br />miles below Junction City. The Big Blue River, which joins the Kansas
<br />River from the north at Kanhattan, was at bank-fUll stage beoause of heavy
<br />mint'sll over parts ot its drainage baain in 80utheautern Nebraska and
<br />northeastern Kansas and added about 22 percent to the flow of the Kansas
<br />River at Manhattan. Other tributaries joining the Kansas River below Man-
<br />hattan were not at abnormally high stages, and therefore the temporary
<br />storage afforded by channel capacity I!l8rved to reduce the peak diso:taarge
<br />from about 190,000 second-feet, estbaated .s the sua of the discharges of
<br />the Kansas and Big Blue Rivers at Manhattan, to about 177,000 seoond-feet
<br />at Wamego, 154,000 second-feet at Topeka, and 122,000 seoond-feet at
<br />Bonner Springs, Kans. It is probable that the peak ot the disoharge of
<br />the Big Blue River reaohed Manhattan ahead of the peak in the !ansas River
<br />by a te. hours, but their identities were merged at Wamego. BecaUAe at
<br />
<br />FLOOD ON REPUBLICAN AND IU.NSAS RIVERS, MAY AND JUNE 1936
<br />
<br />25
<br />
<br />the reduotion in peak disoharge by the time the flood peak reached Kansas
<br />City, the levees were able. to pass it safely into the Miuouri River.
<br />
<br />ACKNOWLEOOMHNTS
<br />
<br />"
<br />
<br />The Missouri River division of the Corps of Engineers, United States
<br />Army, !anaae City, Ko., has fUrnished data on topography and river pro-
<br />files, together with other information obtained by that office in connec~
<br />tion with ite studies of floods in the Kansas River Basin, inoluding de-
<br />tailed studies of preCipitation records and data regarding loss of life
<br />and damagE! to property. The United States Weather Bureau furnished timely
<br />information concerning the extent and progress of the flood along the low-
<br />er valley of the Republican River and Kansas River in Kansas, and precipi_
<br />tation data obtained at various places in Colorado, Nebraska~ and Kansas.
<br />L. T. Burgess, chief hydrographer in the office of the Colorado State
<br />engineer, a9sisted in colleoting field data in Colorado. 'Bads Lehman, of
<br />Idalia, Colo., furnished eetlmate9 of flood losses in Colorado. J. M.
<br />Sherier, meteorologist, United Statee Weather Bureau, Denver, Colo., gave
<br />information regarding the origin and nature of the storm at May 30-31.
<br />,
<br />A. C. Tillsy, State engineer of Nebraska, and G. S. Knapp, chief engineer,
<br />division of water resouroes, Kansas state Board of Agriculture, supplied
<br />data regarding flood 108ses in Nebraska and Kansas, and the Kansas State
<br />Highway Commisston supplied data on oross sectto~s and estimates of flood
<br />damages to highway struotures and loaned airplane photographs. Engineers
<br />ot the division of water resouroes, Kansas State Board of Agriculture,
<br />collaborated in making dlscharse measuremepts and in obtaining data at
<br />~iver measurement stations in Kansas. Aoknowledgments to local reeidents
<br />and others are given throughout the report.
<br />The field work in Colorado and Nebraska was done under the direction
<br />
<br />,.
<br />~
<br />
<br />of Robert Pollansbee and was begun June 6 by J. H. Baily, assisted by
<br />K. C. Boyer and H. H. Odell. The field work in Kansas was done by J. B.
<br />Spiegel, assioted by Charles Wells and R. V. Smrha. Computations and
<br />otfioe studies were made by Follansbee and Baily for areas in Colorado
<br />and lebra8ka and by Spiegel for stations in Kansas. Reoomputations of
<br />discharge tor the nood of 1903, which are inoluded as a part of this re_
<br />port, were prepared b;r G. R. Willi8JIUI. The individual reports prepared by
<br />~lansbee and Spiegel were reviewed and oorrelated by C. H. Pierce.
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