Creek Restoration Walks: Does Montclair Creek Even Exist?
By Brian Hyde
I was recently asked whether I thought it was misleading to refer to “Montclair Creek” since there is no official floodplain study for the portion of northeast Denver referred to by Denver’s Public Works Department as “the Montclair Basin”. There is no official floodplain map and there is no well-defined stream channel within the Montclair Basin. If you walked on a sunny day from the “headwaters” of the Montclair Basin (part of Cranmer Park, part of the George Washington High School site, portions of Fairmount Cemetery and Lowry near the intersection of Quebec Street and Alameda Avenue) to the center of the “watershed”, and then to the confluence with the South Platte River at the National Western Stock Show site, you would never see running water.
On July 7, 2011(after 6 p.m.) and again on July 7, 2012 (after 5:30 p.m.), you could find moving water – and water trying to move – along “Montclair Creek”. Some choice “waterfront locations” were: the 800 block of Magnolia Street, Monaco and 10th Avenue, King Soopers at 14th and Krameria, and the intersection of 14th and Kearney. In 2011, when the rainfall was heavier, the creek flowed down six blocks of Colfax (sending water into several businesses), turned north at Glencoe and followed 16th Avenue and Batavia Place all the way to Colorado Boulevard and City Park. On other occasions, the soccer fields at Crestmoor Park have been submerged, homes near Jasmine and Severn have experienced basement flooding and Hale Parkway has carried water past hospitals like Rose Medical Center and the Veteran’s Administration Hospital nearby.
Hydrologists and water engineers refer to “ephemeral streams” and “intermittent streams”, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions like the Front Range.
Ephemeral Stream: A stream or portion of a stream which flows briefly in direct response to precipitation in the immediate vicinity, and whose channel is at all times above the groundwater reservoir.
Intermittent Stream: A stream where portions flow continuously only at certain times of the year, for example when it receives water from a spring, groundwater source or a surface source, such as melting snow or rainfall.
I am unaware of a scientific term for a stream whose surface channel network has been entirely replaced by underground pipes (aka “storm sewers”). Storm sewers convey the waters of Montclair Creek from the headwaters to City Park, where they briefly surface within Ferril Lake and Duck Lake at the Denver Zoo. More storm sewers then convey the waters to the confluence with the South Platte River at the Stock Show site. My hunch is that inside that underground network of pipes lives a “perennial stream”. It is currently “ephemeral” or “intermittent” because our predecessors made a long series of development choices over a period of 150+ years.
On July 7, 2011, flood-warning rain gages operated by the Urban Drainage & Flood Control District within and near the Montclair Basin measured respectively 1.03”, 1.03”, 1.07”, 1.11” and 2.06” in 1 hour and 1.07”, 1.11”, 1.39”, 2.66” and 2.98” in 3 hours. Montclair Creek briefly arose from its nap. On July 7, 2012, the 1-hour rainfall was measured at values ranging from 0.04” to 1.22” and portions of the creek woke up again. Welcome back, Montclair Creek!
An expert in floodplain management, Brian Hyde leads a regular Creek Restoration Walk. To join, email westerly_connect_brian@comcast.net or call 720-939-6039.