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<br /> <br />" <br />, <br /> <br />-3- <br /> <br />It' <br /> <br />Damage to the main lines of the Union Pacific and Burlington Rail- <br />roads, loss of hay lands, farm buildings and livestock, and damage to other <br />property in general were immense and difficult to estimate. <br /> <br />'I <br />." <br /> <br />Kiowa Creek was estimated to have had a peak flow of 200,000 c.f.s. <br />in the 1935 flood, while in 1945 a flood with a peak flow of about 16,000 <br />c.f.s. -- less than one-tenth of the peak flow of 1935 -- caused extensive <br />damage again to highways, bridges, railroads, farms and bUildings. <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />A very good example of the amount of silt carried by the streams of <br />this region is found at Bootleg Reservoir, an irrigation structure on <br />Boxelder Creek near the northern boundary of Adams County. Since 1911, <br />when storage first began, over 1000 A. F. of silt has accumulated in the <br />reservoir. 1fuere the outlet tube was originally nine feet above the stream <br />bed, silt now covers the tube to a depth of eight feet -- 17 feet of silt <br />that would have been carried on into the South Platte River were it not for <br />this reservoir. The usefulness of this resel"ioir has been decreased by <br />about 35 per cent in approximately the same nurnber of years. <br /> <br />As a result of the smaller 1945 flood, the U. S. Army Engineers con- <br />structed protective dikes at the towns of Elbert and Kiowa. The dikes <br />serve to protect these two towns, but do not alleviate all flood damages. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />, <br />t <br /> <br />If retardation structures and practices are applied to the critical <br />areas, the benefits would be demonstrated not only in this particular flood <br />basin, but also would assist in controlling sediment in the South Platte <br />River from Fort Morgan to the confluence of the Missouri River. '!he life <br />span of any large reservoir, such as may be located on the main stem of <br />the South Platte River, into which waters of the Kiowa and other tribu- <br />taries flow, would be lengthened by several years through the removal of <br />silt before it could flow into the reservoir. <br /> <br />Direct benefits to the areas in this flood basin would be (a) <br />protection of life and property, (b) stabilization of the general economy <br />of the entire area, and (e) the promotion of future expansion of agricul- <br />ture. <br /> <br />As to geology of this region, the area is underlain with a rela- <br />tively impervious material which W0111d retain the retarded water and serve <br />to recharge many of the hidden underground channels. This wou~d restore <br />and stabilize the water table of the region and again permit sub-irrigation <br />of many areas which are now arid. In addition, the uSe of pumped water <br />for irrigation and domestic purposes could be re-developed. <br /> <br />l <br /> <br />