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in 1864, 1894, 1921, and 1935. Reliable information of other damag- ing floods that have occurr~d has been lost in the obscurity of time. As a result, definitive records of past floods are extremely meager for the Arkansas tri~utari~s such as Sixmlle Creek. CUAAENTFLO:}DSITUATION - . . Developments in the Flood Flain Oth~r than th~ fiv~ briegs crossi~gs, there has been . very little development in the flood plain of Sixmile Creek. A f~w s~~ll ho~ses ar~ farm buildings co~rise the only construction within ~he flood plain. Obstructions to Flood Flows Natural obstructions to flood flows include trees, brush and othH vegetation gro,dng along the river banks. In the Six~ile Creek Basin th~re is very little vegetation capabl~ of ob- structi~g flood flows in the reaches above ~ile 1.60. Do~~stream ofEile 1.60 the terrain becomes more abundantly covered with gras s, bushes"nd trees providing obstructions to flood flows. ~~rumade obstructions to flood flows inClude the five roadway crossings and bridges which Cause a backup of floodwaters upstream of the constrictions (see Table 1 and Figures land 2). . Flood Warning and Forecasting Services The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Service provides no specific flood forecasts for tributary ctreams of the Arkansas River in the Pueblo re9ion_ The technology of accurate river and flood forecasting is dependent upon adequate snd timely rainfall and river stage data. Itls essential that such basic data be available, particularly rainfall reports, for areas subj~~t to cloudburst type storms. Current fund- ing restraints prevent Weather Service operation of the dense net _ works required to accumulate such data. At present, the principal servioe th~ Weather Service can prOvide is a general alert to the danger of flash flooding On Sixmile Creek. This is done by means of forecasts of approaching storm systems Or radar detection of imminent . . , ,