FLOOD08428

• County: Lincoln
• Community: Limon
• Stream Name: Limon area rivers and streams
• Basin: Arkansas
• Title: Town of Limon Reconnaissance Level Investigation
• Date: 9/3/1987
• Prepared For: Limon
• Prepared By: CWCB
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

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Big Sandy Creek is ~ m~jor tributary to the Arkansas River.
It has its headwaters in the eastern fringe of the Black Forest
area, approximately 25 miles northeast of Colorado Springs.
From this area, Big Sandy Creek flows southeasterly to Limon.
From Limon, the Big Sandy Creek flows southeasterly and then
southerly approximately 127 miles to its confluence with the
Arkanbas River east of Lamar, Colorado.

Land use in the drainage areas of Big Sandy Creek and the
Limon tributaries is predominately rangeland inter spread with
cropland. Cropland makes up 21 percent of the total area.

While open space is not at a premium in the vicinity of
Limon and the land use is urban, the areas along the stream
channels have been left as open space and do provide relatively
undeveloped areas and vistas within the town. They provide
habitat diversity and, because of this, serve to attract birds
and other wildlife that would otherwise not be present.

Big sandy Creek is a large, ephemeral stream consisting of
a sand gravel bottom. There is no aquatic habitat. The dominant
vegetation consists of cottonwoods in an uneven age stand, with
under story shrubs of wi.llow and tamarisk. The under story
contains various, forbs. grasses, sedges. and rushs that are
quite lush in some areas.

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The floodplain of Big Sandy
and provides an oasis-like
rangeland and dry cropland.
floodplain provide diversity of
forms, with Big Sandy Creek flood
for deer and other wildlife.

Creek is aesthetically pleasing
contrast to the surrounding
Both the channel and the
habitat for various wildlife
plain serving as travel lanes

The areas along the tributary channels are generally
vegetated with a variety of forbs. grasses. sedges. and rushes
in the bot tom and bordered by cot tonwood. wi llow. and siberian
elm trees. Small areas of cattails and rushes are scattered
along the channels and are concentrated at the lower end.
Water flows are ephemeral. and minor temporary ponds are formed.

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4.0 BACKGROUND

During 1963. the High Plains Soil Conservation District
completed a watershed project which included land treatment and
structural measures to retard flood waters above the Town of
Limon. These structures control approximately 13.3 square miles
of the upper drainage area. The design of the structures
allowed a regulated release of IOO-year flood waters to be
contained in the channel of the three tributaries through town
(see Figure 2 and Figure 4)1.

1 High Plains Soil Conservation District; Watershed Work Plan
for the Limon Watershed, June 1962

3820E

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