The Great Flood of 1965:

On June 16th, 1965, one hundred and one years after the Cherry Creek flood of 1864 - which wiped out most of the small frontier town of Denver - a massive, hundred year flood on the South Platte River "took revenge" on the city of Denver. Multiple days of record-breaking rainfall (in some places over 12" of rain over a 24 hour period) in eastern Colorado from June 13 to 16 caused waves of flooding along the South Platte River. The normal flow of the South Platte River was only 300 cubic feet per second but during the flood, the water flow peaked at 150,000 cubic feet per second - or 500 times the normal flow rate. The flood carried mud, trees, boulders, cars, mobile homes, farming equipment, and all sorts of debris along a half-a-mile-wide path along the South Platte River. Much of this debris piled up behind the many bridges crossing the South Platte River (as the photos above and below detail), forming temporary dams which, with enough pressure, eventually broke - destroying the bridges.

 

Photo from Returning the Platte River to the People by Joe Shoemaker

Photo from Littleton, CO website
 
 

As was mentioned earlier, much of Denver's industry was located along the South Platte River. As a result, about two thirds of the city's industrial area was in the flood zone. Residences, businesses, roadways, and railroads were also heavily damaged by the flood. In all, the flood caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damages and left twenty one citizens dead.

 

"Turn every disaster into an opportunity"

           - John D. Rockefeller

 

Denver's Response to the Flood:

Using federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the city of Denver undertook a $680,000, comprehensive "super study," titled In Response to a Flood. This super study painted a beautiful image of what Denver and the South Platte River could look like but it came with a super price tag: 630 million dollars over the next twenty years. With no further funding sources (at least nowhere near 630 million dollars), this super study was a super failure.

Despite the lack of funding for the implementation of the In Response To A Flood plan, the City of Denver formed the South Platte Area Redevelopment Committee (SPARC) with the charge of implementing the plan. With no money and no powers, this committee was destined to fail - which it quickly did.

The only immediate response to the flood that actually went anywhere was the planning and construction of two additional dams upstream of Denver by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Chatfield Dam - on the South Platte River - was constructed from 1967 to 1975 and the Bear Creek Dam was built from 1968 to 1982. Along with the Cherry Creek Dam, these dams countered the possibility of any future serious flood damage to the City. While the dams reduced the threat of flooding, they did nothing for the horrible state of the South Platte River - and it remained an open sewer.

Read on...