FLOOD01948 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

, I I Sheridan Blvd. and Mississippi Avenue. The disappearance of these reservoirs is progressively decreas- ing the storage volume available in the upstream reaches of the basins. The value of these reservoirs is evidenced by the lack of a history of major flooding on the gulches. Under agricultural conditions in the upstream basin, much of the runoff was captured by the system of irrigation ditches and conveyed to the storage reservoirs. As these r~servoirs disappear and development in the basin proceeds, the likelihood af major flooding becomes increasingly evident. PRESENT STATE OF DEVELOPMENT An analysis of recent aerial photographs indicate that the Weir Gulch basin is approximately 82% developed and that the S~nderson GulCh basin is 83% developed. It is unlikely that either basin will reach what might be termed 100% development due to the exis- tence of large parks and golf courses within the boundaries. General dovelopment of the basins consist of single family residential interspersed with commercial and some industrial activity. The industrial areas are confined to the lower reach of Weir Gulch between the Platte River and Federal Blvd.; and the lower reach of Sanderson Gulch between the Platte River and Mariposa Street. The commercial development consists of strip type development along Federal Blvd., Sheridan Dlvd., Wadsworth BlVd., and Ala- meda Avenue. One major shopping center, Villa Italia, is located in ~ sub-basin of Weir GulCh. The remainder of the area is largely occupied by residential housing projects. Generally speaking, those located north of Alameda and east of Sheridan Blvd. date back to the 1930's. Development in the Sanderson Gulch basin between Sheridan Blvd. and the Platte River occurred from 1~40 to 1960. Development west of Sheridan Blvd. and south of Alameda Avenue has occurred mainly in the last 12 to 15 years. One exception to this is the area between Harlan and Ohio on weir Gulch Which was deve1- Ofl"'J. ill LIl.. 1~30'li ..nd 1940's. Some of the most serious drainage problems to be dealt with in this study have been created by development in the upper reaches of the basins within the last four to six years. Development in the basin is continuing to proceed at a rap~a pace with the few remaining areas of land likely to be developod within -10- the next few years. RESERVOIRS AND IRRIGATION DITCHES The existence of major irrigation ditches and storage reservoirs throughout the study area must be considered in any planning of drainage facilities within the basins. Each basin is dealt with in the following paragraphs separately. WEIR GULCl1: The upper portions of Weir Gulch, consisting of North and South Weir Gulch, discharge into Main Reservoir. This reservoir, con- structed in the 1800's presently acts as a storage reservoir for irrigation waters of the Agricultural Ditch and Reservoir Company. The reservoir is filled from the welch Ditch whioh diverts water from Clear Creek. The Welch Ditch crosses both North and South weir Gulches approximately one-quarter mile west of Main Reservoir. Main Reservoir has a water surface area at the spillway crest of approximately 50 acres. A 60 foot long reinforced concrete spill- way was constructed on the reservoir recently. The spillway term- inates in an energy dissipation structure directly in line with Mississippi Avenue. No defined drainage c~urse exist~ below th7 reservoir to accept discharges from the sp~llway. Th~s reservo~r is of extreme importance since it intercepts a drainage basin of 902 acres. All downstream facilities, either existing or proposed in this study, are predicated upon the continued existence of this reservoir. Just east of Main Reservoir is the return ditch of the hgricultural Ditch and Reservoir co. This ditch would intercept portions of any spill from Main Reservoir and/or direct releases from Main Reservoir and convey them to a wasteway in McIntire Gulch approx- imately one and one-half miles north of Main Reservoir, or return the flows to the Main Agricultural Ditch. The capacity of this ditch is approximately 30 cubic feet per second. Major portions of this ditch have been placed in covered conduits by developers of the area. Some portions, however, are still open and ab~e to accep~ surface runoff. It is important to note that the Agr~cultural D~tch and Reservoir Company looks upon the return ditch as a historic recip- ient of portions of the spillway discharge from Main Reservoir. East Reservoir is situated immediately east of Main Reservoir and is also in the ownership of the Agricultural Ditch and Reservoir Co. The reservoir has a surface area of approximately 20 acres and intercepts runoff from a 98 acre drainage basin. Irrigation releases from Main Reservoir and Smith Reservoir (Smith Reservoir is located in the Sanderson Gulch Basin and is dedIt with ~epar- ately) normally flow into East Reservoir. Discharges from East _11_