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<br />Examples of snowmelt flooding occurred at Redstone on the Crystal River, at Delta on the <br />Gunnison River and at Dolores on the Dolores River. In Redstone, the levees that were constructed <br />following the 1984 flood season prevented floodwaters from entering the community. However, lower <br />portions of the system were threatened significantly. At Dolores, the non-engineered levee system was a <br />major concern. As water approached the top one foot of the levee system, infiltration could have begun <br />and structural failure would have soon followed. Just upstream of the levee system in unincorporated <br />Montezuma County, residents sandbagged the streambanks so that floodwaters would be repelled. <br /> <br />Rain on Snowmelt Floodin:: <br /> <br />Rain on snowmelt flooding occurs most often in Colorado during the month of May. It is at this <br />time of year that large general rainstorms occur over western Colorado. These rainstorms are most often <br />caused when warm moist air from the Gulf of Me){ico begins pushing far enough north that it begins to <br />aflect western weather. In combination with this movement of air mass is the continued possibility of cold <br />fronts moving into Colorado from the Pacific Northwest. When these weather phenomena collide, long <br />lasting general rainstorms can often occur. Rain on snowmelt exacerbates an already tenuous situation as <br />snowmelt waters rush down heavily incised stream channels. Any abnolTIlal increase in flow from other <br />sources usually causeS streams to leave their banks. <br /> <br />Rain on snowmelt flooding occurred at Paonia on the North Fork of the Gunnison River. The <br />raiafall which occurred over a 5-hour evening pedod on May 28, 1993 caused the North Fork of the <br />Gunnison River to reach its highest level since the 1984 flood season. Many miles of agricultural land <br />experienced severe b,mk erosion in unincorporated Oelta County. The stone riprap at Paonia's wastewater <br />treatment plant experienced severe damage as did we bank armoring at Huff Addition #1 (a subdivision). <br /> <br />North Fork of the Gunnison River near Somerset <br />May.June 1993 <br />---~-._----"._------- <br /> <br />1l.OOO 010 <br />..,o.moJ.o <br /> <br />CFS in Thousands .--nctlanneJ capacity est. at 7000 <br /> <br /> <br />24 25 26 27 26 29 30 ~1 01 02 ~3 04 OS 005 07 00 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 :10 21 22 <br /> <br />Days <br /> <br />Prepared on June 23rd Dy <br />Division ofWaler Resources <br /> <br />6 <br />