<br />
<br />~
<br />~
<br />
<br />Drain between Sections 22 and 23, Township 21 North, Range 55 West. It
<br />was estimated that the peak discharge at the former location was 10,000
<br />second-feet (drainage area of 18 square miles), and 30,000 second-feet at
<br />the latter location (drainage area of 47 square miles). Satisfactory data
<br />could not be obtained for estimating the peak discharges east of Highway
<br />No, 29.
<br />
<br />21. Areas flooded. Overbank flow occurred on all branch drains
<br />leading from the canyon mouths to the Gering ~ffiin Drain (see Plate No.2).
<br />The oVerbank flow was about 800 feet wide from the mouth of Roubedeau Can-
<br />yon and, as the contributing area increased, gradually increased in width
<br />to about 1.5 miles wide due south of Gering, Nebraska; then it gradually
<br />reduced to about 0.5 mile wide near the Union Pacific Railroad main tracks.
<br />A total area of 5,000 acres along the drainage canals was inundated by the
<br />flood and a large area was flooded by concentration of the runoff from
<br />fields and small draws.
<br />
<br />22, Direct damages. 35 bridges, ranging in size from over 150 feet
<br />long to small access bridges and ranging downward in value from approximately
<br />$50,000, were either damaged or oompletely destroyed. The left bank of the
<br />Main Drain, between Sections 17 and 20, Township 21 North, Range 55 West,
<br />was eroded 8 to 10 feet into the roadway for a distance of about 0,5 mile.
<br />All the roads in the flooded area were either eroded or covered with one
<br />to two feet of silt. The Scottsbluff County Engineer estimated the damage
<br />to county roads and bridges to be $200,000. The Union Pacific Railroad
<br />pile bridge across the Gering Main Drain Was undermined, stopping traffic
<br />for about 2-1/2 days. Minor damage occurred to the spur track.in Gering
<br />Valley due to loss of ballast and to deposition of debris upon the tracks,
<br />The direct damage to the railroads was estimated to be approximately $3,000.
<br />
<br />23. The siphons crossing under the Gering Main Drain and under a
<br />branch drain of the Mitchell Irrigation Canal were destroyed, and other
<br />miscellaneous irrigation structures in the Gering Valley were damaged by
<br />the flood. ~rr. Charles Klingman, Manager of the Gering-Ft. Laramie Irriga-
<br />tion District, estimated the direct damage to the irrigation systems to be
<br />$150,000.
<br />
<br />24, Within the flooded area 30 groups of farm buildings were damaged
<br />by deposition of silt and by inundation, Several small buildings were
<br />swept downstream, and valuable machinery from one farm was buried in the
<br />drain when the bank washed away. It is estimated that the damage to farm
<br />buildings, machinery, and personal effects was $10,000, Approximately
<br />5,000 acres of crops were damaged by silt deposition and by scour. Al-
<br />though many of the crops inundated were not abandoned, as water did not
<br />remain on the land long enough to smother the plants, it is estimat~d that
<br />the direct damage to crops was $85,000.
<br />
<br />25, There was no loss of life as a result of the flood; however, at
<br />the height of the flood an entire family of beet workers, 14 persons in
<br />one building, was carried 0,5 mile east of its eriginal position in the
<br />southoast quarter of Section 14, Township 21 North, Range 55 West, The
<br />family safely rode the flood out with the children perched in the attic.
<br />The building passed over a county road and a railroad spur track, crossed
<br />
<br />-10-
<br />
|