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c ,~~ ~ ...' Needs for Further Development of Water and Related Land Resources <: the coal is processed locally for thermal electric generation or coal gasifi- cation, or if it is transported by slurry pipeline, the water requirements would be significant. Future needs for municipal water cannot be reasonably predicted without more definitive and supportive predictions from the oil shale and coal industries. Flood Control Needs Flood damages in the basin have been minor because of the low population density and lack of urban and residential development in the flood plain. Two distinct types of floods occur in the Yampa basin, the spring snowmelt floods and .the summer thunderstorm floods. The first type is caused by rapid snowmelt in the early spring which produces large volumes of water over a period of several days or a week. Many of the streams near the head- waters of the basin are not deeply entrenched and the normal springtime flows spread out over considerable bottom or floodplain areas. Since this is a normal annual occurrence, very little development has occurred on these floodplains. The farmers utilize these areas as wet meadows or pastures, or as feeding grounds during the winter. Occasionally, ice jams will increase the area of flooding and damage. These spring snowmelt floods can cause streambank erosion, damage to diversion structures, erosion of low lying fields and delay in crop growth. The second type of flood is caused by summer thunderstorms which tend to produce flash floods in localized areas with high peak flows with low total volumes of water. These floods can result in local damage to cropland and other land and to improvements such as roads, bridges, irrigation structures, and other facilities. Large volumes of mud and debris may be carried by these floods and deposited in headgates, culverts, roads, and fields. Historically, major floods have occurred on Fortification Creek which flows through Craig, Colorado. These floods resulted from snowmelt or a combina- tion of snowmelt and rainfall. Ice jams at creek obstructions in the town of Craig have caused some of the flooding. Some channelization under the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been done to provide for better flow conditions through Craig. The town of Craig has had consider- able urban expansion on the Fortification Creek floodplains in recent years, and potential damage from even minor overflows would now be extensive. A total of approximately 42,900 acres in the Yampa River basin are subject to floodwater and sediment damage. Of this total acreage, 700 acres are within urban areas and the remaining 42,200 acres are agricultural lands. All of the urban areas and most of the agricultural lands subject to flood damage are located upstream from Cross Mountain Canyon. . Several areas of irrigated land in the basin, in particular those along the main tributaries, are being eroded away during high stream flows. 20