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~...'.'....' (, , ,-l , " i)- i I " ;;: STATEMEN'D \ Bijou Creek Flood of 1935 By Ernest Rosener - Morgan County t < ~ " I Bijou Creek enters Morgan County on the South fr,'01Il Adams County in Town- ship 1 - North Range 60, thence flows in a north easterly course for a dis- tance of 36 miles, where it enters the South Platte River, then down the South Platte River in an eastern direction for 20 miles to the ~ogan County Line. During the 1935 flood, the average width was 1 1/2 miles wide with a peak flow of 176,000 second feet, at this time Morgan County lost all its bridges on Bijou Creek and the South Platte River, consisting of 11 major bridges, with the loss of 4 lives. The channel had widened in most cases to three times its original width. A grant of funds to rebuild these bridges was obtained from the Federal Gov- ernment in the amount of $200,000.00 for material, matched by another $200,000.00 for P.W.A. labor. In this rebuilding program there was built across Bijou Creek in Township 3N - Ranges 58-59, the longest bridge in Colo- rado, being 2050 feet long. . Likewise the State Highway Department lost their major bridge on High- w~ No. 6 and the Burlington Railroad Company, their bridge and the mile of grade, the cost of these replacements are not known and not included in Morgan County figures. ^ , ! Damage to irrigation systems consisted of two flumes across Bijou Creek at replacement cost of ~95,000.00 and two diversion dams across Platte River at a cost of $50,000.00 There were approximately 37,000 acres effected in Morgan County by this flood, with an estimated loss of livestock, homes, and property in excess of $500,000.00 and reduced property valuation on this land for Morgan County to waste land at ,1;.50 per acre. Totallosses during- 1935 on Bijou Creek to Morgan County and its people would figure somewhere near 1 1/2 million dollars. Floods occur down Bijou Creek at an average of perhaps 6 to 8 per. year with an estimated annual flow of from 8000 to 10,000 acre feet per year. It is my belief that most of this water is unappreciated and unsuitable for irrigation because of the silt it carries. Most irrigation ditches on the South Platte River shut down their irrigation ditches when Bijou Creek floods. Percentage of silt runs from 30% up. No connection with Narrows Dam. Water would supplement well irrigation and could be used through old tile irriga- tion systems.