Laserfiche WebLink
COMMENTS BY COL. W. H. McKENZIE III <br />MBIAC MEETING - 6 -7 DECEMBER 1967 <br />DENVER, COLORADO <br />FLOOD CONTROL ON THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER IN COLORADO <br />INTRODUCTION <br />(Acknowledge introduction and recognize any personages who may be <br />present.) <br />GENE <br />Before it was harnessed and controlled through stabilization and <br />multiple- purpose dams, the Missouri River was an ever - present problem <br />for the inhabitants of its flood plains. Plagued by floods, erosion, <br />and shifting channels, the farms, the cities, and the industries along <br />the Missouri's river banks had no choice but to submit to the river <br />whose main claim to fame was its record of destruction. <br />Today, when headlines are made by the Missouri River, more than <br />likely they tell of records of another kind, new records in commercial <br />navigation, in hydro -power production, in flood prevention, and in <br />recreation. So, today the major problems in the Missouri River Basin are <br />caused by the Missouri's tributaries. <br />THE'SOUTH PLATTE RIVER <br />Take South Platte River, for example. This sprawling, loose- <br />jointed member of the Platte River family roams 450 miles, from the eastern <br />slope of the Front of the Rocky Mountains southwest of Denver to <br />its union with the North Platte River in Nebraska. Within that distance <br />the Platte River drains an area of more than 24,000 square miles, <br />