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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Mr. Ben Urbonas, P.E. Page Five September 26, 1977 Wright-McLaughlin Engineers Page Seven January 28, 1974 .'" / .,.") /" ~. ':':'/.: ''/ //i'~,~, " /" '- ' -' /- Edward J. Krisor, , ~-" -" '1 '/ z"/ -- 6. Red Barn Blockage of Natural 'vatercourse. There are many strange developments that occur in urban areas. None is more shocking than the construction of a furniture store in the middle of a natural ~atercourse. Some legal experts ~ould argue that a person should be allowed to do ~ith his property ~hatever he ~ants> even to his own potential detriment. To this "maxim", I do not comment. But ~hen someone changes the natural flow of surface water to the detriment of others, the la\v of surface water in Colo- rado is clear. Such a person must provide the improvements to carry away the surface water as it would have naturally flowed. An observance of the flood plain caused by the artificial damming of ~aters by the furniture store (See Drawing No.1) as compared ~ith the flood plain ~ith the recommended improvement (See Drawing No.5), describes more adequately than one thousand ~ords ~hat the legal issue is. Although the Report recommends tearing down the artificial obstruction, another possible alternative might be an adequately sized pipe. Another alternative would be an adequately sized alternate route around the store. Whatever the engineering solution, the o~ners and d~ellers in the human-created flood plain should be notified of their predicament and their la~yers will have recourse to Colorado Court decisions. comments are particularly appropriate in this Reach, since a portion of the residence in question appears to be built on the center line of the gulch. 6. Reach V-C (Reed Street to Confluence). Generally, in all cases, construction of improvements such as those recom- mended in this report must begin at the "downhill" end of the gulch and proceed upstream. This is the case on South Lakewood Gulch and specifically in this last portion of the gulch. As is noted in the report, without the improvement of the wall, the lOO-year event will overshoot the gulch and enter the townhouse complex. Therefore, with the improvements recommended upstream the flows will certainly be of a larger quantity and at a higher velocity at this point in the gulch than in the past, and the concrete wall will be necessary as the first improvement con- structed to protect the townhouses from further improvements made upstream. . If you have any further questions and desire comment on any other aspect of the report, please contact either Joe or myself. Very truly yours, Jr. Although some form of local government (perhaps Jefferson County) probably granted a building permit for the construction of the store, and undoubtedly some time has gone by, I am unaware of any restrictions placed on the police power to deal with health and safety matters, particularly ~hen a dangerous condition such as this has just been identified. Building departments are daily faced with changing conditions that must be dealt with promptly and reasonably, such as elevators that ~ere once all right but no longer are safe; buildings that once ~ere structurally safe but no longer are; plants that once did not pollute, but now do. Such is the case with a building that restricts the flo~ of a natural watercourse in an urbanizing area. EJK:sc B-3