WSP05269

• File Number: 8142.400
• Description: Trinidad Project - Reports
• State: CO
• Basin: Arkansas
• Water Division: 2
• Date: 4/1/1964
• Author: US BOR
• Title: US Bureau of Reclamation - Trinidad Irrigation and Flood Control Project - Preliminary Report - Volume I
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

.

O~1819

FLOOD CONTROL

.

The first major flood of record in the basin of the

Purgatoire River above Trinid~d occurred in l866. There have

since been four other major floods, two prior to 1904, one 1904,

and one in 1925. There is no known record of the discharge or

volume of the floods before 1904. A brief description of the 1904

and 1925 floods is given below. In neither of these storms does

it appear that the precipitation reached the excessive rates re-

corded during the Pueblo storm of 1921 Or the Memorial Day storm

of 1935 south-east of Denver.

Past Floods

September 29-3~~. This flood was caused by excessive

precipitation occurring on September 28 and 29, following general

rains on the watershed starting Septenfuer 23. From the U.S.G.S.

Water Supply Paper No. l47, gi~ing a detailed description of that

flood, it ~s found that the ~aximum recorded precipitation was

2 inches in l2 hours, from 9:00 P.M. September 29 to 9:00 A.M.

September 30, at Trinidad. Prior to that time 4 inches had fa~len

since September 27. Other U. S. Weather Bureau stations within

and adjacent to the watershed were Clear View and Santa Clara

reporting 3.39 and 4.90 inches respectively for the period

September 28-30. The first is at elevation 9500 feet above mean

sea level and the latter is at elevation 8250. A sustained

peak for two hours of about 45000 second-feet resulted at Trinidad

with a probable maximum of 50000 second-feet. The total volurae is

estimated to have been 50000 acre-feet.
'H

.