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<br />I <br />II <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />MASTER DRAINAGE PLAN <br />CITY OF ALAMOSA AND <br />ADJACENT PORTIONS OF <br />ALAMOSA COUNTY <br /> <br />1. <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />A. GENERAL BACKGROUND <br />The City of Alamosa is located in south-central Colorado, approximately <br />100 miles southwest of Pueblo and 100 miles north of Santa Fe, New <br />Mexico, in the San Luis Valley. The Rio Grande River is the major <br />natural feature forming the eastern boundary of the city. Alamosa <br />is named after the Spanish word for cottonwood. The town was estab- <br />lished in 1878 by railroaders working for the Denver and Rio Grande <br />Ra il road. <br /> <br />Currently, the area encompassing the City of Alamosa and adjacent por- <br />tions of Alamosa County are experiencing new growth patterns. Histor- <br />ically, the population has held steady. The current population as of <br />the 1980 census is 11,799, up approximately 5,000 fro~ 1970 figures. <br />The turnaround in growth is due to new commercial enterprises that have <br />established in the valley. As the commercial ventures selected this <br />area, a marked increase in residential development occurred. Residen- <br />tial growth is expected to continue to occur in Alamosa County around <br />the periphery of the city limits, since the intercity is already devel- <br />oped. <br /> <br />The study area encompasses 11.5 square miles incorporating all areas <br />within the current Alamosa city 1 imits and surrounding portions of <br />Alamosa County (Figure 1). The study area is approximately 50 per- <br />cent urban and 50 percent rural. <br /> <br />-1- <br />