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The history of flooding in the City of Golden indicates that the most serious flooding has been the result of cloudbursts occurring from late May to early September. Several severe floods have been recorded in Golden since 1864. On August 1, 1888, cloud- bursts along the Front Range produced a peak discharge on Clear Creek of 8,700 cubic feet per second (cfs) that lasted for 2 hours. This discharge was measured 7 miles upstream of Golden. Most of the damage from this flood occurred in Clear Creek Canyon between Idaho Springs and Golden (Reference 5). On July 24, 1896, cloud- bursts over Clear Creek Canyon and Golden Gate Canyon produced floods on both Clear Creek and Tucker Gulch. Three people were killed when a wall of water passed down Tucker Gulch. Most of the homes and businesses along lower Tucker Gulch sustained sub- stantial damage (many were completely demolished) and most of the bridges across Clear Creek were swept away (Reference 6). On July 23 and 24, 1965, heavy rains over the Clear Creek and Tucker Gulch basins (4.5 inches in 1 hour being reported on Tucker Gulch) produced flash flooding in Golden and inundated a wide area, causing major damage to homes, bridges, and utility lines. The most extensive damage occurred along Tucker Gulch (Reference 7). The preceding descriptions are examples of some of the more damaging floods experienced in Golden; however, many other floods have also inflicted damage. A correlation between the elevations of previous floods and the elevations of possible future floods with specific recurrence intervals, as presented in this study, is difficult to determine because of changes in the stream channels caused by natural processes and manmade developments. Bridges, culverts, and other structures have been added or replaced. In the flood plain areas, buildings have been replaced and new developments have been built in previously open spaces. Photographs of potential flooding in Golden are shown in Figures 2 through 8. 2.4 Flood Protection Measures No flood protection measures are provided upstream of Golden on any of the streams. Within the city, channelization measures have been taken in some areaS1 primarily, these measures are concrete walls to streamline the flow. Tucker Gulch has been sufficiently channelized from State Highway 58 to its confluence with Clear Creek to pass the lOO-year flood. The existing channelization of sections of Clear Creek is not sufficient to protect the city from lOO-year floods and floods of higher recurrence intervals. Clear Creek is channelized from Washington Avenue downstream. The city has enacted an ordinance to minimize property damage and danger to life in flood plain areas (Reference 8). provisions in the ordinance regulate and restrict the following: land use and development patterns; construction practices and flood proofing measures; presence of potentially hazardous debris and pollutants, 6