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<br />Total damages incurred in Colorado and Kansas reached an estimated
<br />$3.5 million.
<br />f. Flood of July 1951.- Heavy rains oVer the Arkansas
<br />River watershed between Garden City and Great Bend, Kansas, led to
<br />flooding on the Pawnee River. Great Bend became the principal victim
<br />when, on 13 July, t~e city's dike failed and about 145 city blocks
<br />wer~ flooded. The Red Cross and State National Guard organi~ations
<br />evacuated 250 persons, some 1,250 homes and 65 business were damaged,
<br />and about $150,000 in damages resulted.
<br />g. Flood of July 1958.- Intense rainstorms and runoff
<br />over the Pawnee River and ~lnut Creek drainage areas produced flood-
<br />flOws that threatened Larned but did not overtop the city's dikes.
<br />At Great Bend, however, the floodwaters outflanked the levee and
<br />caused extensive damage within the city.
<br />h. Flood of June 1965.- During the June 13-19 period,
<br />sustained and heavy rainstorms produced flood flows extending from
<br />the headwaters of Fountain Creek in Colorado to below Great Bond in
<br />Kansas. John Ma~tin Reservoir successfully contained the total flood-
<br />water vol~e received from upstream drainaTCs, storing 33G,000 ~cre-
<br />feet of water by 30 June. Below John Martin O~m, a flood of unprec-
<br />edented....gnitude resulted--generated entirely in the drainaqe ar ea
<br />bttwce~ t~c ~~. and the Co~orado-Kansas State line. 7.,~ rl~ ur
<br />
<br />stream effected. In the case of larger and more general storms,
<br />however, these produce flood discharges on many tributaries which
<br />co~ine on the river's main stem to cause widespread damage.
<br />a. Arkansas River Valley.- The Arkansas River valley is
<br />subject to flooding from two major contributing areas, one of which
<br />lies between John Martin Dam and the Colorado-Kansas State line, and
<br />the other between Dodge City and Great Bend. From the State line to
<br />the mouth of the Pawnee River near Larned, flood peaks are generally
<br />reduced by valley storsge. Plate A~2 shows the attenuation of peak
<br />flows for various historic floods progressing down the Arkansas valley.
<br />b. Lamar, Colorado.- Lamar is partially protected from
<br />floods on Willow Creek by a levee and channel constructed by local
<br />interests to divert flow around the city's eastern edge. In early
<br />settlement times, the creek's natural outfall to the Arkansas River
<br />passed directly through the area now occupied by Lamar as a modern-
<br />day city. Large floods such as experienced in June 1965 overtop the
<br />levee-channel system and return to the old natural watercourse directly
<br />through La~r. The business district and a larqe part of the city's
<br />residential area south of thn AT&S, railroad are vulnerable to flood-
<br />ing from willow Creek. North of the AT&SF, the area is subjected to
<br />Arkansas River overflows. Tributaries that directly influenoe peak
<br />
<br />fl"w~ on the Atkans.." "t ....'"",. in",luu" Cd,JOOd, Mu.d, d'''' ""ry Cree;';'s.
<br />
<br />June 1965 was the greatest on record for the Arkansas River, a'~
<br />property damages inflicted between John Martin ~m and Great Bend
<br />eventually reached an estimated totai of $40 million.
<br />(1) Colorado, On 17 June, Lamar experienced flooding
<br />south of its railroad tracks, and Granada was flooGed to depths of
<br />aoout6feet. At HOlly, floodwatersdestroyedtheleveese"tending
<br />along U.S. Highway 50 to the river, reSulting in water depths to
<br />8 feet within the town and evacuation of the entire 1,100 populatiOn.
<br />The rains covering Colorado at this time were so intense that the
<br />Arkansas R,ver was discharging 200,000 c.f.s. at the Colorado-Kansas
<br />border in spite of the storage retained in John Martin Reservoir.
<br />
<br />c. Granada, Colorado.- Wolf Creek e!:lerges from a sand hill
<br />area about 1 mile west of Granada and turns southeast (f~om a north-
<br />erly courae) to approach the City along the AT&SF railroad. At
<br />Granada's outskirts, the creek again turns abruptly to the northeast
<br />and flows under the railroad bridge. A levee and channel constructed
<br />by local interests helps to direct small flows beneath the railroad
<br />~ridge, but the system is ineffective against large magnitude floods.
<br />Pa5t floods that have breached the levee and entered the community
<br />occurred in July 1935, June 1949, ~y 1951, May 1958, and June 1965.
<br />A flood in ~y 1955 damaged the levees ~nd agricultural land. The
<br />1965 flood forced the entire community to. evacuate to the higher land
<br />50uth of Grahada.
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