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0:1493 . . The total estimated damages sustained along the Purgatoire River from the May 1955 flood were $1,414,000 (1955 prices). The most recent flooding occurred on June, 1965. This flooding precipitated an estimated $400,000 in damages in the vicinity of Trinidad. A flow of approximately 15,700 c.f.s. was recorded at Trinidad. Had Trinidad Dam been in operation during these previous periods of high flows, much of the monetary and property losses, loss of life, injury, and hardships and misery associated with flooding would have been drastically reduced both in the vicinity of Trinidad and in the lower Purgatoire River Valley. i. Extent and character of flood plain. The area * subject to flooding from the standard project flood extends from the mouth of San Francisco Creek to the Trinidad Lake Project dam- site, a distance of about 30 miles. The flood plain varies in width from about 600 to 2,400 feet within the city of Trinidad and from about 800 to 3,700 feet in the rural areas. It is estimated that about 7,290 acres of land in this reach would be subject to damage from the standard project flood (125,000 c.f.s.), of which about 484 acres are developed urban land in Trinidad and 6,826 acres are rural, cultivated, and grazing land. The estimated value of property in the flood plain, based on July 1973 prices, is $53,325,000, of which $21,520,000 is urban, $2,989,000 is rural, and $28,816,000 is utilities and transportation facilities. *Standard project flood is that flood which may be expected from the most severe combination of meteorological and hydrological conditions considered reasonably characteristic of the geographical area in which the basin is located, but excluding extremely rare combinations. 11-13