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<br />SECTI..THREE
<br />
<br />PAST ROODS
<br />
<br />3.1 SUMMARY OF HISTORICAL FLOODS
<br />
<br />Table 4
<br />Recorded Peak Dischargesll for Cherry Creek
<br />Near Melvin, Coloradoll
<br />
<br />Several large floods have been recorded on Cherry Creek in the study reach. The earliest recorded
<br />flood occurred in May 1864. Other floods occurred in May 1876, May 1878, July 1885, July 1912,
<br />July 1927, August 1933, July 1946, June 1965, and May 1973. The peak flow during the June 16,
<br />1965 flood was estimated to be 39,900 cfs at Arapahoe Road by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
<br />and was the largest recorded flood this century. Tables 3 and 4 show the large peak flow data
<br />collected at the Franktown and Parker gauging stations operated by the USGS.
<br />
<br />
<br />3 Au st 1933*
<br />6 June 1940
<br />6 S tember 1940
<br />14 Jul 1941
<br />13 March 1942
<br />5 Au t 1945
<br />18 Jul 1946
<br />5 Au t 1955
<br />31 Jul 1956
<br />26 Jul 1957
<br />31 Jul 1957
<br />18 Jul 1958
<br />24 March 1960*
<br />31 Jul 1961
<br />3 Au t 1963
<br />16 June 1965
<br />JuL 11, 1967
<br />Au . 21, 1969
<br />
<br />34,000
<br />1,760
<br />4,500
<br />2,390
<br />1,530
<br />10,700
<br />17,600
<br />4,510
<br />5,310
<br />9;950
<br />3,480
<br />5,290
<br />2,720
<br />5,600
<br />10,800
<br />39,900
<br />1,850
<br />3,200
<br />
<br />Table 3
<br />Recorded Peak Discharges !l for Cherry Creek
<br />Near Franktown, Colorado Y
<br />
<br />
<br />6 June 1940
<br />13 Jul 1941
<br />13 March 1942*
<br />5 Au t 1945*
<br />7 Au t 1954
<br />31 Jul 1956
<br />30 Jul 1957
<br />24 March 1960
<br />31 Jul 1961
<br />21 Au t 1965
<br />18 Jul 1966
<br />6 Ma 1973
<br />Au . 1, 1976
<br />JuL 17, 1979
<br />Au .4, 1984
<br />Au . 23, 1986
<br />Au . 2, 1997
<br />JuL 24, 1998
<br />A r. 30, 1999
<br />Au .27,2002
<br />
<br />2,000
<br />4,700
<br />3,620
<br />9,170
<br />2,620
<br />3,380
<br />5,380
<br />2,340
<br />3,410
<br />1,800
<br />2,250
<br />4,670
<br />2,580
<br />1,950
<br />1,720
<br />1,460
<br />1,800
<br />1,190
<br />1,290
<br />5,
<br />
<br />II Only those years having a peak discharge of 2,000 c.f.s. or greater are indicated except for years inserted to show peak
<br />discharge relationships between Franktown and Melvin. '
<br />1l From V.S.O.S. Gauging Station near right bank of Arapahoe Road bridge, 6 miles northwest of Parker.
<br />* Not a continuous record.
<br />
<br />3.2 FLOOD DESCRIPTIONS
<br />
<br />The following accounts of flooding on Cherry Creek in the study area are representative of typical floods for which
<br />information is available. There have been other floods but little information is available.
<br />
<br />Julv 1912. In 1912, the only Weather Bureau Station in the Cherry Creek watershed was located in Denver.
<br />Records indicate that 2.08 inches of rain occurred during a 2-hour period on 14 July 1912. The heaviest
<br />precipitation occurred between Franktown and a point about 5 miles north of Denver, with the center located near
<br />Parker. The rainfall started at about 3 p.m. and continued until approximately 5 p.m. Cherry Creek crested at about
<br />10 p.m. and had a peak discharge of approximately 25,000 cubic feet per second in Denver. The Cherry Creek
<br />Rood Commission estimated that runoff occurred from an area of about 200 square miles. Rood damages in the
<br />reach between Franktown and the site of the existing Cherry Creek Darn and Reservoir totaled $554,000 (1912
<br />dollars).
<br />
<br />July 1922. A severe storm centered over the Bayou Gulch watershed, a tributary to Cherry Creek, during
<br />the afternoon of 28 July 1922. Heavy rainfall was reported to have occurred in an area bounded by lines 3' miles
<br />
<br />II Only those years having a peak discharge of 2,000 c.f.s. or greater are indicated except for years inserted
<br />to show peak discharge relationships between Franktown and Melvin.
<br />1l From V.S.O.S. Gauging Station on right bank 2.2 miles south ofFranktown.
<br />>L V.S.o.S. Provisional
<br />* Not a continuous record.
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