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<br />The flood of June 1965 was the most severe of recent history on <br />tributaries to the Arkansas River east of longitude 105". The <br />Ramah Dam, a part of the Big Sandy Creek project, was operational <br />at that time. TwO high-intensity rainfall cells from this particular <br />storm were located over El Paso and prowers Counties. Precipitation <br />amounts of more than 12 inches were measured in these two general <br />areas. The Ramah Dam emergency spillway flowed at full capacity. <br />The upper reaches of Big Sandy Creek reached flood stag~; however, <br />because of long travel distanc~s through Elbert, Lincoln, Cheyenne, <br />and Kiowa Counties, the flood peak was reduced a great deal further <br />downstream. <br /> <br />An eastern Colorado newspaper gives the following report of the <br />June 1965 flood on Big Sandy Creek: <br /> <br />Reports say that the Ramah dam is full and the <br />Big Sandy has been flowing steadily past Limon <br />for the past four or five days. When the water <br />came down originally it got out of the banks a <br />little, but it returned without doing any damage. <br /> <br />The stream has been fed for the past three or four <br />days from water which has been caught in the Soil <br />Conservation dams which are purposely constructed <br />to stop the water, but to allow it to escape in <br />a gradual manner, so that there will be no flooding. <br />These dams are the same as those which were built <br />north of Limon last summer. <br /> <br />The Big Sandy was contributing to the flood in <br />the Arkansas valley when the bed was bone dry in <br />Limon. <br /> <br />Along Big Sandy Creek, there are approximately 9,000 acres of <br />flood plain area, much of which has been damaged by flooding, <br />scouring,'!'l~_e;ediment deposition. Lossesof crops, f~nces, and <br />livestock from floods area.ccm-tInul.ng problem-tofaimeis and <br />ranchers. Floodwaters have also caused considerable railroad, <br />highway, and bridge damage. <br /> <br />There is a potential for considerable flood damage to residential <br />areas, roads, bridges, and stockyards along Big Sandy Creek through <br />the southern section of Limon. <br /> <br />2.4 Flood Protection Measures <br /> <br />Three floodwater-retarding dams were built at the northern outskirts <br />of Limon during the period from 1962 to 1964 as a part of the <br />Limon Watershed Protection Project (Reference 3). This should <br />significantly reduce the magnitude and frequency of future flooding <br />along the tributaries through Limon. Some flooding potential <br /> <br />6 <br />