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<br />bridges and flooded the town of Castle Rock. <br /> <br />The timing of the peaks was generally fortunate, because seldom did two <br /> <br />large peaks coincide in the main stem of the South Plate River. Damage <br /> <br />was severe in many urban areas, damage in the Denver area being the most <br /> <br />extensive and widely publicized. Damage estimates by a specialCongres- <br /> <br />sionalcommittee total$500 million in the South Platte River basin, of which <br /> <br />about $300 million occurred in the Denver area. The attenuation of the <br /> <br />flood as it passed through Denver illustrates both the "flashy" nature of the <br /> <br />flood and the effects of channel storage, much of it behind debris-choked <br /> <br />bridges. The peak discharge of Plum Creek was 150,000 cfs (cubic feet <br /> <br />per second), and that of the South Platte River at Waterton at the time Plum <br /> <br />Creek water entered the river was about 1,100 cfs. This total of 151,000 <br /> <br />cfs was reduced to 104,000 cfsat Littleton, and 40, 300 cfs at 19th Street. <br /> <br />Cherry Creek Reservoir just upstream from Denver held the entire inflow <br />From Cherry Creek <br />^ thereby preventing further damage in Denver. <br />