More than forty federal, state, and local officials gathered Thursday to discuss preparations on how to deal with high water and possible lowland flooding along the Arkansas River in Fremont County this spring. With Arkansas River basin snowpack now reported at 152 percent of average, officials said they believe spring runoff could reach its highest levels on the river in the past 13 years.
The Bureau of Reclamation is currently releasing an additional 300 cubic feet per second (c.f.s.) of water into the river from reservoirs in Lake County to prepare for additional reservoir storage when runoff reaches its peak. The river in the past week has been running at levels of 920 to 970 c.f.s. through Canon City. With the flood stage listed at nine feet for the Arkansas River in Canon City, the National Weather Service is projecting that there is an 80 percent chance that the river could reach a flood stage of 9.2 feet with a 50 percent chance of the river reaching a stage of 9.7 feet.
Fremont County Emergency Management Director Steve Morrisey says river flows as high as 3,700 c.f.s. should not cause any serious problems but with any levels above that, lowland flooding could start causing concerns. Morrisey says some parks officials are predicting water volumes up to 6,000 c.f.s. by mid-June. Arkansas Headwaters State Parks officials said during Thursday's meeting that when water volumes reach 3,200 c.f.s. they begin discouraging rafters and kayakers from boating the Royal Gorge canyon. Fremont County Sheriff Jim Beicker said back in the mid-90's, after several drownings from high water on the river and with numerous calls about unmanned boats floating down the river, then Sheriff Dale Rea shut down all recreational boating on the Arkansas for several days.
The Bureau of Reclamation is currently releasing an additional 300 cubic feet per second (c.f.s.) of water into the river from reservoirs in Lake County to prepare for additional reservoir storage when runoff reaches its peak. The river in the past week has been running at levels of 920 to 970 c.f.s. through Canon City. With the flood stage listed at nine feet for the Arkansas River in Canon City, the National Weather Service is projecting that there is an 80 percent chance that the river could reach a flood stage of 9.2 feet with a 50 percent chance of the river reaching a stage of 9.7 feet.
Fremont County Emergency Management Director Steve Morrisey says river flows as high as 3,700 c.f.s. should not cause any serious problems but with any levels above that, lowland flooding could start causing concerns. Morrisey says some parks officials are predicting water volumes up to 6,000 c.f.s. by mid-June. Arkansas Headwaters State Parks officials said during Thursday's meeting that when water volumes reach 3,200 c.f.s. they begin discouraging rafters and kayakers from boating the Royal Gorge canyon. Fremont County Sheriff Jim Beicker said back in the mid-90's, after several drownings from high water on the river and with numerous calls about unmanned boats floating down the river, then Sheriff Dale Rea shut down all recreational boating on the Arkansas for several days.
Rick Romano of the Natural Resource Conservation Service voiced concerns that a lot of dead timber has accumulated along creeks and the river since the drought year of 2002. He said there's a potential for a lot of heavy timber being carried downstream posing problems around bridge abutments as well as raising safety concerns for anyone on the river.
Among preparations discussed for high water on the Arkansas River this spring and summer were the availability of sand bags and labor crews should sandbagging become necessary; designation of neighborhoods that could fall victim to lowland flooding so lists can be prepared of residents who could be alerted through reverse 9-1-1 phone calls; the need for improved notification and communication among law enforcement agencies and emergency responders; and the need for warnings to citizens about manhole covers becoming dislodged in the event of high water.