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<br />FLOOD SITUATION <br /> <br />PAST FLOODS <br /> <br />Newsp~per files and historical records were se~rched for <br />flood history in walsenburg and nothing was found to indicate that <br />any serious flooding had occurrad in the past. Local citizens <br />report that flooding did occur on August 6, 1936 when a railroad <br />bridge collapsed and, along with trees and other debris, plugged <br />the river channel, causing substantial damage to Welsenburg and <br />the iromodiatevicinity. The storm that cause<i thh floodinqaho <br />caused serious flooding along the Huerfano ~iver that runs a few <br />miles north of Walsenburg. <br /> <br />Flood Season and Flood Characteristics <br />Stonos characteristic of the watershed ar<' usually of the <br />thunderstorm or cloudburst type, which are of short duration and <br />cover only a small area. Moisture-laden winds coming in cont~ct <br />with the mountain slopes, or convectional air currents over the <br />plains area are forced upward causing rapid condensation with the <br />resulting torrential precipitation. Storms of a general character <br />are infrequent and there are few instances of storms of several <br />days duration. <br /> <br /><,actors I\.ffectinq Flooding and ~heir Impact <br />Obstructions to <,loodflow. Obstructions, natural and man- <br />made, within floadways impede floodflows, creating b4ckwater and <br />increased heights. Debris washing downstream during floods often <br />collecta against bridges or within restricted flow areas, reducing <br />waterway openings and impeding the floodflow. This creste~ a dam- <br />ming effect and, depending on the degree of clogging, causes groater <br />backwater depths with increased overbank flooding. 1\.150, a pro- <br />nounced increa~e in flow velocities usually occurs downstream f~om <br />a"obstruction, thus axtending the flood damage potential. Man- <br />made obstructions on or over the floodway such as dams. lev""5, <br />bridges and culverts can also create mOre extensive flooding than <br />would otherwise occur. <br />Munmade obstructions in the study area include two city <br />bridges, a Colorado and southern Railroad bridge and the Interstate <br />25 loridga. T:>.blc I lists descriptive str'l"tu:r~l "'1t<< of th,,"" <br />bridges and other hridqes in the study area. figure 1 shows typ- <br />ical bridges in Walsenburg and vicinity. <br />Flood oamage Reduction Measures. There;s one structuro <br />in the ~tu<1y ~r.." that ha~ signlticant wat.er T,,<!uL,t1!L<J f""ilitio~. <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />, <br />