FLOOD02918

• County: Denver
• Community: Denver
• Stream Name: South Platte River
• Basin: South Platte
• Title: Estimation of Flood Depth-Damage Curves for Residential, Commercial and Industrial Properties in the Denver Region
• Date: 10/1/1977
• Prepared For: CWCB
• Prepared By: Wayne J. Grahm ‎(Master of Science Candidate at CSU)‎
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

I

I
.
I

Federal and local water resource development agencies are in need

of accurate stage-damage curves in order to develop the most economic

solution to solving the flood problem,

I

The Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, ha~had the need in the past

of developing stage-damage relationships for Cherry Creek, South Platte

I

River, and Bear Creek. As reservoirs on each of these streams were built

I

almost solely on their flood control benefits, the stage-damage relation-

ships used were of significant importance in determining the ultimate size

II

of these structures and whether they were going to be built at all.

The Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, in its continuing pro-

I

gram of preparing master plans for major drainage ways, also has a need

I

for accurate stage-damage relationships which its consultants can use in

evaluating alternative projects. The U.D.& F.C.D. uses depth-damage re-

I.

lationships plus other data and selects projects based upon the following

criteria: Benefit-cost ratio, greatest net benefits and least cost to
.")

I

society,

I

Accurate depth-damage data could be of value to.a person, corporation,

or public body with flood-prone land upon which they desire to build.

I

Equipped with stage-frequency curves and stage-damage curves, one would be

in a position to determine the amount of fill which would result in the

I

minimum capitalized cost of fill and flooding,

I

As needed and useful as flood damage data can be, there is a lack of

published data for use by engineers in making damage estimates. This holds

I

especially true for commercial and industrial structures. A dated, but

still relevant statement by White (1942) points out where damage data is

I.
I

lacking:

3

I

- -"'-,-- '''~ '-', -- .,....., ,,- .-..",.__.-..,~,,,._-,-