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<br /> <br />RIVERS ROAR IN COLORADO <br />METRO RESIDENTS fLEE HIGH WATER <br />2 DEAD, 5 MISSING IN WAKE Of fLOODS ON EASTERN SLOPE <br />TUCKER GULCH OVERfLOW RIPS GOLDEN <br />GOLDEN fLOOD DAMAGE PLACED NEAR $8D,000 <br />25 fAMILIES EVACUATED AS BEAR CREEK SPILLS <br /> <br />If you are a nevcomer to the Denver reglon, you msy not be aware of <br />the evente which produo!ed the above De>lOpaper headlines. It' 100.1 have <br />experienced these eventa, you vill appreciate the purpose and value of <br />flood p1.6in information. The 1a:f'oncation presented in this booklet Illay <br />spare you. from becoml118 the victim of r""ture floods, <br />The annual toll of socla1 and economic coats Which floods inflict on <br />our communities and the nation 18 8 burden wbicb. neither coo afford. <br />Moreover, the unknO'o'lng individual wbo acquires property in flood hazard <br />areas sod later falls victim to floods suffers personal tragedy with <br />conaequences orteneodurill8 long after the floodl1asheengep.erlllly <br />forgotten. <br /> <br />GrOWing urban flood damagea call be attributed to invuion of the <br />flood plslns by cOMCrc1alsndrealdeotlaldevelojXllent, lII1d IIlltioIllll <br />expeDditures for flood control works hlIve been UIlable to keep pace with <br />these mOWltil1l! urbandelllages. <br /> <br />To foater pr\1dent USa of \1rban flood plainG, COl1l!ress author1zed a <br />national program of flood plain information in the Flood Control Act or <br />1960. The Denver progrn~ of flood plain intormation studi~e was initillted <br />under, the lluthority of this Act at the requeat of the Inter-County Regional <br />Pl8D.1lina COlllm1saion of Denver, Colorado. <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />This report aWlmlar1zes the third volume of a aCheduled aeries of <br />flood plain information reporta for the metropolitan region of Denver, <br />Colorsdo. It pertains to the metropolitan reaches of Bear and Clear <br />Creeks and provide8 inf'ormation 011 the flood potentiels sndflood hanrd <br />areas of these 8treams. <br /> <br />Volu.me I describes flood hlIzerd stess of the South Plette River f'rom <br />Waterloo to Brighton, Colored.o, and Volume II describes flood hszsrd sreas <br />of Ssnd Creek, Toll Gate Creek, and Lower Cherry Creek. <br /> <br />~/JJ eLJ <br />HARO~~ST.CLAIR <br />C010~~'C~rpa of Engineera <br />D:l.atrictEng1neer <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />Bear and Clear CreekB riae in the mountains weat of Denver and drain <br />adjacent watersheds of 262 and 575 sq~re miles, respectively. From their <br />headwaters near the Continental Divide the streellU~ flow e8stvsrd to their <br />confluences with the South Platte River \lithin metropo11.tan Denver. 'Ihe <br />valleys of both stresOlS are euentially rural in character, \lith SOllle <br />urban developroent \lhere the streams flow through metropolitan Denver and <br />the towns of Morrison, G<>lden and Georgetown. Lend USe in the rural area <br />consists essentielly of stock grezina interspersed \lith gravel mining <br />opentiona. <br /> <br />Urban.1zation in these valleys hse been accelerating in recent yearl. <br />Studies indicate that by the year 2000, the pOpulation of metropolitan <br />Denver ",ill increase about three timea its preaent nWllber. It is <br />anticipeted that, aa Denver grOW'", and expands, urbanization ",111 move up <br />the vtI11eya aod reach Morrison and G<>ldsn by the year 2000. <br />FloOding or: the lowlands adjacent to the streams hes been occurring <br />for centuries. Lowlands illllD!!diately adjacent to the channel are flooded <br />1Il0re frequelltly thsn those farther back frolll the atreem and at higher <br />elevations. In the past, ",hen valley landa "'ere undeveloped Or devoted <br />to agriculture, flooding ceused relatively llIinor llIOnetery damage. HOlIever, <br />\lith the spread of residential and comzoerci81 develoPlllSnt into the flood <br />plains, floods cauae increased damage and disrupt the lives or affected <br />people. At a national level thia developlll8nt of the flood plains is <br />occurring faster then protection can be provided. An elternetive to <br />flood protection is the prudent development of flood plains to reduce the <br />flooddamegepotentitll. <br />This investigation describes the flood problems on Bear Creek from <br />Morrieon to its lllouth and on Clear C:reek trollJ Golden to its mouth. The <br />Bear Creek reach includes the Denver suburbs of Sheridan-Centen1'lisl, Gre...n <br />Cebles and Greeo Mountein alld the tOlln of MorriSOn; the Clear Creek <br />:reach includes the suburban ereas of South Westminster, Wheatrldge.Lekewood, <br />Arvade, Ralaton and the town of Golden. <br /> <br />. <br />