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Southwest Colorado warned ~prifigflooding By Norm Udevitz Denver POSlStaflWnter State=Rnd federal experts Thurs- day warned oHIcials from south- west Colorado towns and counties to expe~t some flooding in their part of"th~-slate during May 8!ld June. . _~..v The="warnings were issued in Golden at Ii daylong seminar reo viewing spring flood possibilities ror county commissioners, city managers. water system and res- ervoir managers and county disas- ter service officers from through- out the state. The annual seminar was hosted by the Colorado Divi- sian of Disaster Emergency Ser- vices. The worst conditions will be in the San Luis Valley where the Rio Grande and several of its tIibutar- ies could nood their banks and damage roads, bridges and agneul- luralland. The experts warned that towns such as Alamos3, Del Nom, Mon. te Vista, San Luis. Blanca and Fort Garland also could experience some nooding. "Such nooding in the towns could happen if we get a 16- or Ui- day burst of above nonnal temper- atures in the mountains during May, causing a very rapid snow- melt," said Gary Schaerer of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. The National Weather Service predicted that temperatures in the area will be above average during the next 60 days. but that precipita. tion, in the fonn of rain, will be nonnal The nooding threat, Schaefer said, emanates from heavy snows in the southwest mountains throughout the winter. "Right now, in the Rio Grande Basin the snowpack at elevations below 9,600 feet is abnormally big. It averages about 40 inches in depth and is 195 percent of normal. And its at 134 percent of normal above 10,000 feet. I have never seen that much snow that far down the mountains," Schaefer said. He added: "On top of that, be- cause it has been such a wet winter in the San Luis. Valley, the water table is only 18 inches from ground surface. It usuaUy is about 4 feet from the surface. The bottom line IS that the ground can't absorb much more water. If there are any heavy rains, there could be trou- ble." . On the eastern side of the Conti- nental ~ivide, there is a high po- tential for nooding in Huerfano County along the Cucharas River. Such towns as La Veta and Walsen- berg could be threatened, Schaefer said. The upper South Platte River south of Denver also could run ab- nonnally high during the May-June nmoff period, officials said. The af- fected area would be between the river's high mountain sources and Chatfield Reservoir. The lower nv. er, from Chatfield to Nebraska where it joins the North PlaUe, will run about nonnaL No nooding is expected else- where in the state. o o I::) u;) c:> u;) -