FLOOD00959

• Designation Number: 143
• County: Denver
• Community: Denver
• Stream Name: Marston Lake North
• Title: Flood Hazard Area Delineation - Marston Lake North
• Date: 2/1/1979
• Designation Date: 3/18/1979
• Prepared For: Denver
• Prepared By: UDFCD
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

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II. DRAINAGE BASIN CHARACTERISTICS

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The Marston Lake North drainage basin covers various jurisdictions and

ownerships: Jefferson County; City and County of Denver; Denver Water

Board Marston Water Treatment Plant; and Pinehurst Country Club. It

also passes to the south of Fort Logan National Cemetary, through U.S.

Government property. The drainage basin is shown on Drawing 3 of 12.

southeasterly direction and leaving the basin at Belleview Avenue.

Johnson's Lateral enters the basin to the north of Lakes Lake, flows

along Lakes Lake in a northeasterly direction, leaving the basin in the

vicinity of Henry's Lake. Neither canal is considered to transfer any

flood flows out of the Marston Lake drainage basin.

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The Marston Lake North drainage flows in a northeasterly direction to

Bear Creek which flows east to the South Platte River. The headwaters

of the watershed begin in a residential development bounded to the north

by Harriman Lake and on the south by Belleview Avenue. The drainage

basin has an area of 2.1 square miles and is approximately 4.4 miles

long and approximately one mile wide at its widest point. The basin is

largely undeveloped but is quickly being developed, mostly above Colorado

State Highway 121. From the headwaters to its confluence with Bear

Creek, the total fall in elevation is 260 feet, or an average slope of

1.1 percent. Thus, the watershed tends to have rapid response to storm

The Marston Lake North drainage basin is rapidly becoming urbanized to

the west of Marston Lake and along the north shore of Marston Lake. The

present development is characterized by single-family and multi-family

residences, with the future development trend expected to be residential

and light commercial. Construction results in increases of impervious

surfaces, thereby increasing stormwater flows -- flows which formerly

seeped into the ground and produced lower runoff rates. Flooding then

~esults if the existing conveyance facilities in the lower reaches of

the basin are inadequate.

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events.

Previous Investigation~ A number of studies and investigations of general

as well as specific flood problems in the Marston Lake North drainage

basin have been undertaken in the past. These are briefly summarized

below.

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The basin has several lakes of varying sizes, with Lakes Lake in the

upstream portion of the watershed, and Incinerator Lake at the lower end

with surface areas of 22 acres and one acre, respectively. There are

also three lakes along the drainageway through the Pinehurst Country

Club golf course, but these are considered to have limited detention

volume. There are large sumps in the drainage basin. The Marston Lake

Sump, directly west of Marston Lake, lies between Old Wadsworth Boulevard

and Colorado State Highway 121. The other sump is formed to the west of

Colorado State Highway 121, downstream from Lakes Lake. Both sumps have

considerable detention capabilities with respective volumes of approxi-

mately five-acre feet and 50-acre feet.

October 1971. "Master Plan for Hajor Drainage: Henry's Lake Area

Project REUSE." (Leonard Rice, Consulting Engineers.) This report

was prepared as a prototype for future major drainageway planning

studies. It was originally intended to be directed towards the

Henry's Lake drainage basin; however, it was determined that there

were two drainage basins: Henry's Lake and Lakes Lake. This re-

port considered inter-basin transfer of water, an assumption no

longer accepted by the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District

for major drainageway planning.

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Two canals cross the Marston Lake North drainage basin upstream of

Colorado State Highway 121. Bowles Lateral enters the basin south of

Harriman Lake, traversing the basin downstream of Kipling Street in a

September 1973. "Drainageway Study for Park West Filing 2."

(Hydro-Triad, Ltd.) This study acknowledged the Henry's Lake area

master plan but did not conform to its recommendations. The study

called for detention facilities on the site.

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