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<br />I. INTRODUCTION <br />. <br />, <br /> <br />Purpose <br />The purpose of this report is to document the flooding of June 1997 in the Lower Elk River <br />watershed in Routt County. The documentation will provide Routt County Commissioners, the <br />Lower Elk River Flood Association (see resolution in chapter IV), and agencies and entities <br />involved in post-flood study and mitigation with basic information about the flooding and its <br />impacts. In addition, the report will provide recommendations about short-term and long-term <br />flood mitigation measures. <br /> <br />Study Area Description <br />The study area for this report includes a small portion of Routt County near the community of <br />Milner. Milner is located approximately lO miles west of Steamboat Springs in northwestern <br />Colorado. The Elk River, which is a right bank tributary to the Yampa River, drains from north <br />to south and empties into the Yampajust above Milner. The Elk River crosses U.S. Highway 40 <br />just north of the confluence area. Overbank areas along the Lower Elk experienced high water in <br />1995, 1996, and 1997. <br /> <br />II. JUNE 1997 FLOOD EVENT <br /> <br />A rainstorm occurred on the evening of 6/2/97 which produced 0.3" of rain in Steamboat. <br />Heavier rain was reported northwest of Steamboat (amount unavailable). Following the <br />rainstorm, the Lower Elk River experienced a substantial increase in flow above the already high <br />flow due to snowmelt runoff. <br /> <br />Significant flows occurred on the Elk River on June 2 and 3, 1997. The gaging station near <br />Milner recorded a peak flow of more than 5,000 cfs during early June. The U.S. Geological <br />Survey (USGS) has conducted field investigations to better estimate the peak flow that occurred <br />on late June 2 and/or early June 3. The investigations suggest that the gage may have been <br />rendered inoperable during the peak of the flood. Therefore, the gaged peak flow for the Elk <br />River near Milner did not accurately record the maximum flow. According to the USGS, the <br />actual flow may have been as high as 6,000 cfs or more. However, an official USGS estimate <br />has not been released, <br /> <br />In any case, the June 1997 high flow is considered to be the flood of record for this stream reach. <br />The return period associated with the peak flow is more than a lOO-year event, and is likely to be <br />in the range of a 200-year event. For comparison purposes, the FEMA Flood Insurance Study for <br />Routt County shows a lOO-year flow of about 4,200 cfs for the Elk River. <br /> <br />As a result of the overbank flows, the worst flooding problems in the Elk River basin occurred in <br />the early morning hours of June 3, 1997. Homes, property, bridges, and roads were damaged or <br />threatened. Families were evacuated as necessary. Several county roads were closed due to the <br />high water. <br /> <br />1 <br />