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Frederick H. Ruggles

Publications and source records attributed to Frederick H. Ruggles.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Flood of October 8, 1962, on Bachman Branch and Joes Creek at Dallas, Texas

This report presents hydrologic data that enable the user to define areas susceptible to flooding and to evaluate the flood hazard along Bachman Branch and Joes Creek. The data provide a technical basis for making sound decisions concerning the use of flood-plain lands. The report will be useful for preparing building and zoning regulations, locating waste disposal facilities, purchasing unoccupied land, developing recreational areas, and managing surface water in relation to ground-water resources. This is one of the series of reports delineating the flood hazard on streams in the Dallas area.

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Floods on small streams in Texas

The first streamflow station in Texas was established on the Rio Grande at El Paso on May 10, 1889. Sip,ce that time the systematic collection of streamflow data. has expanded. In 1915 the Texas Board of Water Engineers (now the Texas Water Development Board) entered into a cooperative agreement with the U. S. Geological Survey for the purpose of expanding the network of stream-gaging stations in Texas. Sites were selected for stream-gaging stations to obtain hydrologic data for water supply and flood control. Therefore, the stream-gaging stations were located principally on major streams. Today, after three-quarters of a century.of hydrologic data collection, peak discharge data on small streams are still deficient in Texas. The Geological Survey and the Texas Highway Department, therefore, have entered into a cooperative program to collect peak discharge data on small streams for the purpose of deriving flood-frequency data needed for the economical design of culverts and small bridges.

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Flood on Big Fossil Creek at Haltom City near Fort Worth, Texas, in 1962

The approximate area inundated near Fort Worth, Texas, by Big Fossil Creek, during the flood of September 7, 1962, is shown on a topographic map to record the flood hazard in graphic form. Big Fossil Creek, which drains an area of 74.7 square miles, flows generally southeastward along the northeast edge of Fort Worth through Richland Hills and Haltom City, into West Fork Trinity River. The flood of September 7, 1962, the greatest in Richland Hills since at least 1900 was the result of a high rate of discharge from the area upstream from the confluence of Big Fossil Creek and Whites Branch. Greater floods are possible, but no attempt has been made to show their probable overflow limits. Future protective works may reduce the frequency of flooding in the area but will not necessarily eliminate flooding. Changes in culture such as new highways and bridges and changes in land use may influence the inundation pattern of future floods. Mapping of the West Fork Trinity River flood was beyond the scope of the Big Fossil Creek study, and is not shown.

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