FLOOD00268

• County: Jefferson
• County: Denver
• Community: Lakewood, Denver
• Stream Name: Dry Gulch
• Title: Flood Hazard Area Delineation - Dry Gulch and Tributaries
• Date: 11/1/1977
• Prepared For: Denver / Lakewood
• Prepared By: UDFCD
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

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4

of 5.9 miles. Lakewood Gulch carries the flow approximately

one mile to its confluence with the South Platte River.

the channel is completely obliterated by development. A portion

of the flow is carried in underground facilities, but the major

flow of even small floods is carried overland along streets.

Between Kipling and Miller Streets, the channel is again well

defined, but disappears at Miller Street, where flow must over-

top Colfax.

Two tributaries to Dry Gulch--North Dry Gulch and Colfax Gulch--

are also analyzed within this report. The North Dry Gulch

drainage basin consists of approximately l.l square miles.

Colfax Gulch is a name given to a channel which carries flow

which spills out of North Dry Gulch; as such, it has only a small

tributary basin of its own. The channels and their drainage

basins are illustrated on Sheet 2 of the FHAD maps in Section VII.

The natural channel of North Dry Gulch can be located only in

short and insignificant lengths. It has been filled in such

a way that all drainage is carried on streets or through lots,

creating considerable flooding. There is no natural channel for

Colfax Gulch, and the flow again is carried predominantly on

streets.

The three gulches generally parallel Colfax Avenue (U.S. High-

way 40), an arterial street which has been highly commercialized

for many years through both Lakewood and Denver. The strip

of land within one block on either side of Colfax is frequently

paved to the degree that it could be considered 100% impervious.

The land use outside of this Colfax "corridor" is generally

residential at present, although there is a definite trend to-

ward replacing low density residential dwellings with commercial

and high density residential structures.

III ADDITIONAL STUDIES AND PERTINENT DATA

The Dry Gulch channel is steep and well defined from Lakewood

Gulch to immediately east of Harlan Street. From Harlan Street

to Garrison Street, the channel is well defined in most instances,

but frequently has been constricted to a degree that it cannot

carry the 100-year flood. Between Garrison and Kipling Streets,

To the knowledge of the writers and the engineering staffs

of Denver and Lakewood, no previous studies have been made of

the flooding potential of Dry Gulch. Additionally, information

from the Soil Conservation Service, united States Geologic Survey,

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Colorado Water Conservation

Board indicates that no other studies are underway or contemplated.

The adjacent drainage basins, Lakewood Gulch to the south and

the Sloans Lake Basin to the north, have been studied by the

Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, and these studies

were reviewed in an effort to achieve conformity of drainage

basin boundaries.