PROJ00001

• Contract/PO #: C153168
• Contractor Name: Delta, City of
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 40
• County: Delta
• Bill Number: SB 77-35
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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Climate

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The climate of the Delta area is classified as arid-continental
and is typical of lower intermountain valleys of the west. The
area is characterized by low precipitation, low humidity, abundant
sunshine, and a wide range in annual and daily temperatures.
Summers are generally hot and dry, and winters are generally
co ld and dry.

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Climatological data was obtained from the Delta weather sta-
tion, currently maintained by Radio Station KDTA, and published
by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the
U. S. Department of Commerce. Monthly mean temperatures and precipi-
tation normals shown in Table 1-1 are estimates of the true mean
obtained from the 30-year sample record from 1941 to 1970.

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The average growing season in the Delta area is 146 days
based on probabilities of freezing temperatures occurring in the
spring and fall. Maximum mean daily temperatures in the summer seldom
exceed 950F. Minimum mean daily temperatures in the winter seldom go
below 140F. The highest recorded temperature was +1060F in 1956 and
the lowest recorded temperature was _270F in 1954. prolonged periods
of low temperatures can significantly effect the design of facilities
for diverting and transporting of surface water especially in open
ditches.

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The prevailing winds
the wind is normally from
However, long periods of high

are
the
wind

from the west. In the
southwest and can be quite
velocity are-uncommon.

spring,
gusty.

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of

Rainstorms of
hail, may occur
not frequent.

high intensity, accompanied by minor amounts
during spring and summer, but damaging storms

are

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Prior to construction of three major dams upstream on the
Gunnison River and the Paonia Reservoir on the North Fork of the
Gunnison River, the flood plain area north of the City of Delta
occasionally experienced severe flooding. Since flows in the Gunnison
River are now controlled, the possibility of severe flooding has been
greatly reduced.

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A map of the Delta area delineating the corporate limits
and approximate flood zone boundaries is shown in Figure 3. The flood
prone areas were identified in 1973 by the U. S. Department of the
Interior, Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U. S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Insurance Administration.
There is, on the average, about one chance in one hundred that the
designated areas will be inundated in any year. The flood prone area
within the Delta corporate limits was classified as a special flood
hazard area on May 24, 1974, as part of the Federal Insurance
Administration's National Flood Insurance Program.

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