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<br />ARKANSAS RIVER FROM JOHN MARTIN DAM TO <br />THE COLORADO-KANSAS STATE LINE: <br />CHANNEL CAPACITY AND RIPARIAN HABITAT PLANNING STUDY <br /> <br />Prepared for the <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />by the <br />U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District <br />under the authority of the Planning Assistance to States Program <br /> <br />July 1999 <br /> <br />SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS <br /> <br />The channel capacity of the Arkansas River below John Martin Dam has decreased <br />significantly since the dam was completed in 1948. At that time, the downstream channel <br />capacity was estimated to be 15,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). By 1965, channel capacity had <br />decreased to about 3,000 cfs due to encroachment on the floodway by development and <br />vegetation. <br /> <br />During spring 1995 flood control releases, it was reported that the channel was not able <br />to convey the release of3,000 cfs through Coolidge, Kansas, without causing backwater <br />effects, including a high water table and subsurface damage to crops in many areas of the flood <br />plain. In December, 1995, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) requested <br />planning assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District (Corps) for <br />restoring hydraulic capacity and riverine/riparian ecosystem values in the Arkansas River <br />below John Martin Dam. A Planning Assistance to States (Section 22) agreement (SO/50 cost <br />share) was signed by the CWCB and Corps in August 1996. <br /> <br />This study's purpose is to develop and evaluate plans which, when implemented, can <br />improve channel capacity for flood flows and restore riverine and riparian habitat along the <br />Arkansas River below John Martin Dam. Changes in current reservoir operation plans were <br />not a study objective. <br /> <br />The Arkansas River study reach extends from John Martin Dam 58 river-miles <br />downstream to the Colorado-Kansas state line. The CWCB and Corps coordinated with local <br />and state interests to identitY five specific problem areas to investigate, totaling approximately <br />26 river-miles within Prowers County, Colorado. The five areas selected for study do not <br />include all known problems within the reach downstream of John Martin Dam, nor are they <br />necessarily the most crucial. Rather, they were selected as examples of typical problems within <br />the reach. <br /> <br />A geomorphological assessment of the study reach was completed in 1997 by the U.S. <br />Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station and provided an overview of the <br />