Rawhide Creek Watershed Flood Risk Reduction Plan

The Rawhide Creek Watershed covers more than 142,000 acres in eastern Nebraska, covering Colfax and Dodge Counties. Rawhide Creek spans approximately from the City of North Bend east to the City of Fremont.

The Rawhide Creek Watershed is subject to multiple flooding risks, including both local storms over the watershed and potential overflows from Shell Creek, the Platte River, and Elkhorn River. In recent flood events, impacts from all these sources were experienced. A focus of this Plan-EA is identifying the primary sources of flood risk and cost-effective ways to reduce flooding impacts.

The highest elevations in the project area are in the northwest corner, while the lowest elevations are along the southeast corner near the Elkhorn River.

• Size: 142,528 acres  
• Length: Approx. 209,290 feet from the northwest corner to the southwest corner
• Tributaries contributing to flow: None
• Total named stream flow length: Approx. 63 miles natural or very lightly modified
• Total canal or artificial path flow length: Approx. 79 miles of ditch or straightened stream
• Topography/Area Description: The majority of the project area is within the Platte and Elkhorn River valleys. The northern edge of the area is higher in elevation than the rest of the project area and is comprised of plains and rolling hills.

County: Colfax County

Est. population (2020): 6,547

Historical flooding:

• May 29-31, 2008 – Severe thunderstorms, a few of which produced tornadoes, led to heavy rainfall that produced flash flooding and river and stream flooding that lasted days later. Heavy rain which fell on May 29 eventually worked its way down Shell Creek to just northeast of Schuyler overflowing into a tributary that flooded the northeast section of town late on May 30. The flooding continued into Saturday, May 31, and forced the evacuation of some people in town. In all 250 homes and buildings were damaged and eight families were permanently displaced. Floodwaters reached 4 to 5 feet deep on a few streets, and floodwaters crossed State Highway 15 just north of town. The dollar damage due to flooding in town and the surrounding rural areas of Colfax County exceeded $1 million.

County: Dodge County

Est. population (2019): 1,269

Historical flooding events:

• June 2010 – Flood damage over Nebraska in mid-to-late June amounted to at least $20 million to public property alone and which did not account for damage to private property or crops. The White House declared a federal disaster for 53 counties in Nebraska for June flooding. The Platte River crested a little below 8.5 feet early in the morning on June 14 near North Bend, where the flood stage is 8 feet. The river was above flood stage near North Bend for most of the period from the afternoon of June 13 through the morning of June 16. The flooding mainly affected agricultural bottomlands along the river although some county roads and recreation areas were underwater for a while.
• March 8-10, 2010 – An ice jam around the North Bend area caused flooding of agricultural lowlands from North Bend to around Fremont. In addition, several homes were threatened by the floodwaters, and a few county roads were flooded. Some water damage was likely noted due to rising groundwater or backing up of sewers. The ice jam broke loose on March 10, which caused additional jamming and flooding around the Big Island area near Fremont. Six to 10 people had to be evacuated by boat from the rising waters. Property damage was estimated at $75,000.

County: Dodge County

Est. population (2020): 27,141

Historical flooding events:

• March 2019 – On Friday, March 15 at 10:15 am water began over-topping the cutoff ditch near Highway 30, threatening northwest Fremont. Flood inundation model maps showed that this water had the potential to damage critical infrastructure including the county’s only hospital, the Fremont Airport, and four assisted living facilities. The County Roads department conducted 24-hour flood fighting operations along Highway 30 to slow the flow of water into the area. By 11:15 am on March 15, all state highways into Fremont were closed and remained closed for days. 
• June 2016 – A flash flood from heavy rains caused low land flooding. Around 7 inches fell in the City of Fremont, threatening the county hospital, airport, and several assisted living facilities. Fremont saw widespread urban flooding, especially in eastern Fremont, and basements in nearly 1,000 homes flooded.
• March 2010 – Warming temperatures during the first two weeks of March prompted both snowmelt and ice break up across many rivers and streams in eastern Nebraska, further aggravated by several periods of rain, and resultant high water and ice jams caused mostly minor flooding episodes across the region. An ice jam that apparently broke free around the North Bend area moved downstream and temporarily caused flooding in the Big Island area a little southwest of Fremont. Six to 10 people had to be evacuated by boat from the rising waters, and flooding damages were estimated at $75,000.

Highest elevation is in the northwest corner of the watershed at 1,589.56 feet and lowest elevation at the Elkhorn River in the southwest corner at 1,144.06 feet. 

The Rawhide Watershed is almost entirely row crops, except in communities and some scattered pasture and other land uses.

• 110,989 acres of crop use area, approximately 78% of the total watershed area
• 13,569 acres of urban use area, approximately 9.5% of the total watershed area

Use the legend on the map to learn more about the land use areas.

The floodplain is a geographic area delineated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to determine levels of flood risk and to administration the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The 100-year floodplain encompasses the area which has a 1% change of flooding on an annual basis.

• The floodplain was created by FEMA in for Dodge County in 2008 and in Colfax County in 2016.
• Approximately 78,444 acres of the watershed, or 55.5% of the total area, are within the floodplain.
• The majority of the floodplain area in the watershed encompasses land used for agricultural production.
• The cities of Fremont and North Bend and the villages of Inglewood, Rogers and Ames all fall within the floodplain.