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<br />All of the other streams studied have their sources basically within the city limits, and have <br />little or no flow most of the time. <br /> <br />The total drainage area of Big Dry Creek to Interstate 25 (125) is 56.84 square miles, of which <br />16.75 square miles are above the two reservoirs. Watershed elevations range from <br />approximately 6,500 feet at the headwaters of the drainage area of Standley Lake to 5,160 feet <br />at 125. <br /> <br />The City of Wheat Ridge is located in Jefferson County, bounded by Denver to the east and <br />the frontal range of the Rocky Mountains on the west. On August 20, 1969, Wheat Ridge <br />was converted from a large unincorporated area into a municipality. The estimated population <br />in 1998 was 28,870 (Reference 26). Wheat Ridge lies in the drainage of Clear Creek of <br />which Lena Gulch is a right-bank tributary. Clear Creek is a left-bank tributary of the South <br />Platte River. Originating along the Continental Divide, Clear Creek flows eastward to its <br />confluence with the South Platte River near Welby. <br /> <br />2.3 Principal Flood Problems <br /> <br />Past flooding along most of the streams in the county is not well documented. On any of the <br />small, ungaged streams there are no available data regarding flood magnitude or damage. <br />There are some records available for the larger streams in and near Jefferson County, and it is <br />reasonable to assume that floods occurred simultaneously on the smaller streams as well <br />(References 29 through 32). Records that are available include: <br /> <br />Bear Creek - Flooding occurred along the creek in 1876, 1894, 1896, 1957, 1965, and 1969. <br />The 1896 flood was the largest. Twenty-seven lives were lost, and severe property damage <br />was reported from Evergreen to the mouth. The discharge at the Morrison gaging station was <br />8,600 cubic feet per second (cfs) (Reference 33). <br /> <br />Clear Creek - Past floods on Clear Creek have been infrequent and more severe in the upper <br />reaches (Reference 34). Major flooding occurred in Golden in 1888 (8,700 cfs), and 1956 <br />(5,250 cfs), and in Derby in 1965 (5,070 cfs). <br /> <br />South Platte River - Large floods were reported in 1844, 1864, 1867, 1876, 1894, 1921, <br />1933, 1942, 1965, and 1973. The largest and most damaging of these occurred June 16 <br />and 17, 1965, when a discharge of 40,300 cfs was computed at USGS stream gage <br />No. 06714000, near the 19th Street Bridge in Denver. Flooding occurred throughout the <br />South Platte River basin resulting in six drowning, two other deaths caused by flood-related <br />activities, and damage estimated at $500 million, of which $300 million occurred in the <br />Denver area (References 29 through 32). <br /> <br />Because of conscious efforts by Jefferson County, commercial and residential floodplain <br />development has been severely restricted. However, some older developments, particularly in <br />the mountain valleys and foothill areas, have a high potential for flooding problems. <br /> <br />Photographs of potential flooding in the City of Golden are shown in Figures 1-7. <br />Photographs of potential flooding in the Town of Morrison are shown in Figures 8-11. <br /> <br />In general, within the city of Arvada, the streams are well defined with relatively narrow <br />channels. Potential flooding problems along the streams can be attributed to the large <br /> <br />13 <br />