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<br />1osa. Colorado
<br />
<br />Monday, August 17,1987
<br />
<br />Residents and experts study
<br />S,an Luis seepage problems
<br />
<br />ByWANDADlETRlCH .
<br />Courier Correspondent
<br />SAN LUIS - In an attempt to "pull
<br />the plug" on flooding problems facing
<br />. their town, citizens here'met recently.
<br />with experts from the Anny Corps of
<br />Engineers, the State Highway
<br />Department and the Soil Conservation
<br />Service.
<br />Residents who were having problems
<br />with seepage were invited to speak, and
<br />several did so, saying in many cases
<br />that their homes are in jeopardy and
<br />:hat the water problem has become
<br />nuch w~rse in the past three to five
<br />rears.
<br />Some residents continued to blame
<br />J1e problem on irrigation of the hay .
<br />field north of town, A survey taken
<br />earlier revealed' that 66 of the 100
<br />houses polled had seepage problems,
<br />Elmer Valdez of Dos Hermanos
<br />Ranch disputed that the hay field was
<br />responsible for the problem, however,
<br />He said the ranch dug the ditch in the
<br />hay field at the request of tDwn
<br />residents, and even dug it much deeper
<br />than Dos Hermanos felt was necessary,
<br />In an attempt to help control the
<br />seepage, , .
<br />Now that. the ditch itself has been
<br />blamed for the seepage, the ranch has
<br />been filling it back up and packing it tD
<br />keep its Irrigation water out of the
<br />water table.
<br />Gus Gomez of the Soil Conservation
<br />Service then explained that the ditch
<br />had been dug deeply enough to uncover
<br />old gravel bars deposited many years
<br />ago by the Rlto Seeo, thus changing the
<br />water table.
<br />He suggested that one way to control
<br />the seepage on the north side of town
<br />was to lay a 1lHncll drainage pipe from
<br />the north side, along the hay field, then
<br />down the east perimeter to a point
<br />where the excess water could drain Into
<br />
<br />the river.
<br />He also suggested a more managed
<br />approach to irrigating the hay field,
<br />such as only watering 'until the root
<br />zone is saturated with water.
<br />He offered the help of the SCS in
<br />laying out and grading a new ditch to
<br />drain into Rito Seco, which he indicated
<br />would prevent water from standing and
<br />soaking into the ground,
<br />Valdez said the field is only flooded 21
<br />days out of the year.
<br />Frank Collins of the Anny Corps of
<br />Engineers said that since about 1979 the
<br />climate of the area has been getting
<br />wetter, so that now there is more water
<br />to control. He asked lf there had been
<br />any change in water use or
<br />management lately that might 'have
<br />made some difference in the water
<br />table,
<br />Valdez said that Dos Hermanos
<br />Ranch has watered the same way for
<br />the 21 years that he has worked on the
<br />land, He added, however, that the
<br />'water used to irrigate the field has only
<br />been available for the past several
<br />years,
<br />Collins clarified his role as
<br />representative of the Corps, saying that
<br />while the Corps has llmited authority to
<br />do work, it can provide a lot of technical
<br />assistance.
<br />It was brought out by city employees
<br />that the sewage lagoons are being
<br />swamped with fresh water that people
<br />are pwnping out of their basements and
<br />Into the sewage system. Because the
<br />system was not designed to handle this
<br />much water, the state may require the
<br />town to build llIlother lagoon to handle
<br />the extra water.
<br />Those present also said they were
<br />concerned that the two 24-ihch culverts
<br />Installed several years ago on the Rlto
<br />Seco tD replace a condemned highway
<br />bridge would not be sufficient to carry
<br />. away water In the event of a big flood,
<br />. It was agreed that it doesn't take
<br />much, "just a couple of tumbleweeds,"
<br />to plug a culvert and render It useless,
<br />Collins said that, as badly overgrown.
<br />
<br />. as the Rlto Seco is now, it cannot carry
<br />much more water than the culverts
<br />could handle, anyway,
<br />He suggested that a good first step,
<br />both to help control potential floods and
<br />to get help tD replace the culverts,
<br />would be to clear the river channel.
<br />Valdez said that Dos Hermanos has
<br />been keeping the channel clean where it
<br />goes through the ranch,
<br />The experts also said that, if it was
<br />Improved a bit, the emergency dike
<br />erected by the Corps dunng a flood In
<br />1979 would be able to control a loo.year
<br />flood.
<br />Most of the needed improvements
<br />would involve getting rid of the cuts in
<br />the dike, such as those where roads go
<br />through it instead of over it.
<br />The dike is not considered to be a
<br />pennanent structure, however, and
<br />would need to be certified in order tD be
<br />considered pennanen!. The experts felt
<br />this would not be a problem.
<br />People at the meeting were warned
<br />that the process of studying the town's
<br />problems and coming up with solutions
<br />would take awhile, and that there is no
<br />guarantee that money will be available
<br />for either studies or projects.
<br />Someone pointed out, however, that
<br />$25,000 for a drainage study is a small
<br />amount compared to the proposed cost .
<br />of the Denver Convention Center,
<br />
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