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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I no lives were lost in the spectalular flash flood which north Golden from Tucker's Gulch early Monday morning. to have been the most serious in the city's history. Advance warning of the oncoming wall of water, telephoned to Golden and relayed by sheriff1s radio and Golden1s police department, is credited wi th havi ng prevented any loss of 1 He. " descended on It was estimated School property is located left of the photo and the old Safeway property is located to the right. The Coors Wellness Center currently exists where the Safeway Store was located in 1965. Photo #3. This photograph was taken from a location beneath the existing Highway 58 overpass. The 1965 flood occurred prior to the construction of the new highway. The Church Ditch siphon can be seen near the center of the photo. The building in the background is the Coors Porcelain Company. The exposed sanitary sewer line has been replaced by a new line running along the west side of Ford Street. Flood of July 23-24, 1965 Similar to past events, heavy rainfall resulted in severe flash flooding of Tucker Gulch through Golden. It was reported that 4.5 inches fell within a one-hour period in the Tucker Gulch basin, exceeding the estimated one-hour 100-year precipitation by a factor of 1.8. In the lower reaches of Tucker Gulch the floodwaters were reported to have spread over about 17 blocks, causing an estimated $112,000 damage to 69 residences, three commercial enterprises, three railroad bridges, four street bridges, and utility lines. Local sources recalled that major damage to streets, bridges, and utilities resulted from the high channel velocities carrying large debris and silt, blocking bridges and forcing floodwaters down streets. (References 5,7) Photo #4. The worker in the foreground is cleaning debris from the small culverts under the old road embankment. Boyd Street is in the background along the top of the photo. The stream channel has been located to the west, since the 1965 flood. Today, Garden Street is located where this channel once existed. Photo #5. Photo #2. This photo was taken from approximately the same location as Clean up of mud and debris are in progress. Photo #6. bridge and This photo was taken shows the same clean from the north side of the up operation as Photo #5. Ford Street Photographs of the 1965 flood on the following two pages provide an illustra- tive account of this major flood event. The following descriptive information was provided by Vic Seiferth, City Engineer for Golden. Flood of May 6, 1973 - Golden Daily Transcript, May 7, 1973 "Golden's Tucker Gulch, which is the drainage route from Golden Gate Canyon, became a galloping torrent of muddy water enroute to its junction with Clear Creek near the Coors Brewery. The gulch, which was channelized after a bad flood in 1965, seemed to be bearing up well under the onslaught of the waters into the early afternoon, but the dirt banks began to give way about 4 p.m. around 7th Street near the Colo. 58 overpass. By evening, the waters of Tucker Gulch had eaten away the fill around the east end of the bridge and threatened the bridge itself. The Adolph Coors Company supplied the City of Golden with a large bulldozer Photo #1. This photograph shows the structural damage sustained by the 10th Street bridge, formerly State Highway 58. Major damage resulted from the force of a railroad trestle striking the bridge. The same trestle passed beneath the 9th Street bridge without causing damage. Photo #2. The debris which collected south of Clear Creek resulted from Tucker Gulch overtopping its banks between 9th and 10th Streets, forcing floodwaters down Ford Street and across the bridge. The Mitchell 5