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<br />2.4 Flood Protection Measures <br /> <br />With a history of major flooding on the South Platte River, the <br />Denver metropolitan area saw a need for flood control structures, <br />which has resulted in the construction of three major reservoirs <br />and a levee system along the South Platte River. <br /> <br />In 1950, Cherry Creek Dam was constructed just upstream of <br />Denver, located approximately 13 river miles from Commerce City, <br />at a cost of $20 million. The dam is 14,300 feet wide and 140 <br />feet high. <br /> <br />During the 1950s, planning and design for the Chatfield Dam flood <br />control reservoir was completed, however, funding was not <br />available to initiate and complete construction. Three hundred <br />million dollars in property damage suffered in 1965 changed the <br />minds of many, leading to project funding and construction. In <br />1973, final closure of the dam was made and the facility became <br />capable of storing tributary flood waters. Chatfield Dam is <br />located approximately 0.5 mile above the City of Littleton, <br />Colorado, in Douglas and Jefferson Counties, approximately 18 <br />river miles from Commerce City. <br /> <br />In addition to the Cherry Creek and Chatfield Dams, one <br />additional flood control measure,. the Bear Creek Dam, was <br />envisioned in the early 1940s. The Bear Creek Dam is located in <br />Jefferson County on the Bear Creek tributary approximately 16 <br />river miles from Commerce City. Authorization for funding and <br />design of the dam did not occur until 1968. Construction on the <br />$68 million earthfill structure started in July 1974 and is <br />scheduled to be operational in 1979. The dam will be 170 feet <br />high and about 7,000 feet wide, having a storage capacity of <br />75,000 acre-feet, equivalent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers <br />standard project flood. <br /> <br />Throughout the study segment of the South Platte River ,n <br />Commerce City, levees have also been constructed as a flood <br />protection measure. However, during floods of a lOa-year <br />frequency or larger, the levees are topped in the vicinity of the <br />Interstate 270 bridge and the railroad. <br /> <br />Some channel improvements have been made to Sand Creek, including <br />two drop structures which have some effect in reducing velocity, <br />but there are no existing structural flood protection measures. <br /> <br />9 <br />