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Those areas studied by detailed methods were chosen with consider- ation given to all proposed construction and forecasted development through 1982. 2.2 commun~ty Descr~pt~on The Town of Firestone is a small community located in a mining and agricultural area of southwestern Weld County, in northeastern Colorado. The Towns of Evanston, Frederick, and Dacono are directly to the south. The nearest large communities are Longmont, 8 miles northwest, and Boulder, 16 miles-west. Firestone was established in 1907 as a coal mining community known as McKissick and was incorporated in 1908 (Reference 1). The town is built directly over a honeycomb of old mine shafts. Firestone is a residential community with a population of 869, according to 1975 estimates (Reference 2). The drainage basin consists of gently rolling land on the eastern plains of Colorado. Land use is approximately 90 percent agricul- tural. Corn and sugar beets have been the major crops in the past, but small grain crops are now more prominent. Soil types in the basin are the Weld-Adena-Colby Association above the Town of Frederick and the Ascalon-Olney-Vona Association between Firestone and Frederick. These soils are deep, well drained, gently sloping soils found on upland plains (Reference 3). The Tri-Area Drainageway through Firestone parallels the Union Pacific Railroad tracks on the west edge of town before passing through the railroad bridge and the county road bridge to reach Firestone Lake. Flows from the drainage eventually reach the St. Vrain River. The average annual temperature in Firestone is SOnF, and the average annual precipitation is 13 inches (Reference 4). Flood plain development is primarily residential. 2.3 Principal Flood Problems The most significant floods of recent times in the Firestone area occurred in 1957, 1961, and 1965. The major causes of floods are cloudbursts or intensive rainstorms which normally occur during the period of May through August. On J~e 3, 1961, between 2 and 4 inches of rain fell in a 2-hour period in the Tri-Town area. Tri-Area Drainageway flows swelled and flooded sections of Firestone, Evanston, Frederick, and Dacono. The rush of water flowed over the drainage ditch built along the south edge of Frederick, sending a wall of water through the town (Reference 5). This was similar to the flooding that occurred in 1957, which also caused damage to homes, waterlines, and sewerlines. Another 2 inches fell the next day, accompanied by hail. Farmers reported a 100 percent loss of their crops from the rain and hail. Emergency assis- tance was provided by the Red Cross. 3