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<br />. <br />/" <br /> <br />~lood with the runo~~ ~rom Cherry Creek would have resulted in an <br />estimated peak discharge at the Denver gage o~ 65,000 cubic ~eet per <br />second. <br /> <br />(2) Had the ~lood occurred on the lower Cherry Creek channel, <br />it would have carried a~ the 41 structures which cross the stream in <br />the urban reach. These include six railroad bridges, 28 major city <br />bridges, one pipeline and six ~oot bridges. Moreover, the higher <br />~lood stages on the South Platte River would have damaged or destroyed <br />the remaining bridges over the river which were not destroyed by the <br />South Platte River ~lood. The additional ~lood volume also would . <br />have increased ~lood stages considerably in the rural reaches down- <br />stream ~rODl Denver, and would have caused additional. major damages to <br />irrigation structures, irrigated lands, and roads and bridges in these <br />reaches. However, the major damages would have been in~licted on the <br />commercial and industrial properties along the Cherry Creek channel <br />and the lower South Platte River valley in metropolitan Denver. The <br />increased stages near the con~luence o~ Cherry Creek and the South <br />Platte River would have ~looded vastly greater areas o~ central Denver <br />and would have virtually paralyzed the metropolitan cOllllllunity. In <br />addition to preventing much greater ~lood damages, Cherry Creek Dam <br />.retained a large volume o~ ~lood-borne debris which otherwise would <br />have considerably increased the cost o~ cleanup operations in <br />metropolitan Denver. Flood damages prevented by the Cherry Creek <br />project are estimated at $130 million. The in~low hydrograph at <br />Cherry Creek Reservoir ~or the 16 June ~iood is illustrated on plate 7. <br /> <br />(3) During the period 23-26 July 1965, the Cherry Creek <br />project impounded three separate surges of additional flood runo~~. <br />The largest o~ these had a peak in~low o~ 5,000 cubic feet per <br />second. The total flood vo11.1llle impounded during this period was <br />3,144 acre-feet. Since the June ~lood would have destroyed the <br />econOlllic improvements o~ the Cherry Creek vailey, the theoretical <br />damages prevented in the July ~lood were not cOlllputed nor have <br />estimates been made o~ the losses to reconstruction which would have <br />been. in progress. <br /> <br />c. Soil Conservation Service watershed projects. <br /> <br />(1) Kiowa Creek watershed pro.lect. O~ 60 floodwater retarding <br />structures constructed in the Kiowa Creek basin, 30 were ~illed to <br />capacity by runoff ~rom the June 1965 flood. Water flowed over <br />emergency spillways to depths o~ as much as 35 ~eet. These structures <br />prevented flooding o~ an additional 2,500 to 3,000 acres. In addition, <br />the project prevented severe ~looding in the towns of Elbert and Kiowa <br />as well as damage or loss o~ State and county bridges. This project <br />is credited with estimated damage prevention o~ $700,000 at an <br />invested cost o~ $1,250,000. <br /> <br />-. <br /> <br />13 <br />