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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5

Several items of pertinent data were assimilated prior to and

frequent minor damage and inconvenience. The potential for

during the analyses of the gulches. Included were the following:

serious damage in a laO-year storm unquestionably exists.

a. Current U.S.G.S. topographic and geologic maps,

b. Older U.S.G.S maps illustrating drainage patterns
prior to 1940,

A U.S. Geological Survey Gaging Station is located on Dry Gulch

between Kipling and Miller Streets. Annual peak recorded flows

c. Plans of many existing facilities made available by
Lakewood, Denver, and the State Division of Highways,
and

in years 1971 to 1976 were 118 cfs, 57 cfs, 209 cfs, 43 cfs,

196 cfs, and 218 cfso As will be described subsequently, the

d. Projected land use maps.

gage location does not experience representative flood flows,

because of inadvertant detention ponding upstream of it. The

As described, topographic maps at a scale of l" = 100' and a con-

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tour interval of two feet were prepared by Bell Mapping Company

recorded flows are of questionable significance.

for this project. These maps were used to determine the extent

of flooding presented in this report.

V HYDROLOGIC ANALYSIS

IV FLOOD HISTORY

A hydrologic analysis was made to develop design flood flows which

are projected to occur at varying recurrence intervals, or return

To the knowledge of the writers and the municipalities, no

periodsc The return periods for which projected flows were com-

accurate records of flood history exist for Dry Gulch. There

puted are the five-year, ten-year, fifty-year, and one hundred-

are no available data regarding storm magnitudes or degrees of

year flows. These flows would have probabilities of occurring

damage. However, it is well known that repeated instances of

in anyone year of 20%, 10%, 2%, and 1%, respectively. The

minor damage have occurred at approximately ten separate locations.

analysis is based upon projected ultimate land development within

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This damage has resulted from apparently small storms. Numerous

the entire basin. The anticipated land use under fully developed

complaints regarding flooding have been received by the Lakewood

conditions was determined from information prepared by the planning

Public Works Department, and statements by residents at public

departments of Lakewood and Denver. Because the land use in

meetings indicate that minor damages have occurred yearly.

the majority of the basin is presently very similar to the ulti-

Observations of the writers over the past seven years confirm

mate development, relatively little increase is anticipated

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that residents and businesses along Dry Gulch have experienced

in the total volume of runoff in a lOa-year event. However,