DENVER — If you bike or run the Cherry Creek Trail, you may want to avoid it altogether Wednesday, according to officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
That’s because higher than normal water flows through the Cherry Creek Dam began earlier in the day as part of annual sediment flushing by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Learn more about why the flooding is needed in the video below:
The higher flows “will cause higher than normal creek stages and potential flooding of the bike paths and stream crossings,” National Weather Service officials in Boulder said in an advisory Wednesday morning. “The public is urged not to attempt to cross the creek during this event.”
During normal operations, water flows through the Cherry Creek Dam release less than 100 cubic feet of water per second, with a cubic foot equal to 7.5 gallons of water, or about the volume of a beachball. But during a sediment flush – which is what’s happening Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. – those flows will fluctuate between 150 and 1,300 cubic feet per seconds, according to Joe Maxwell, the operations project manager for the USACE Tri-Lakes projects.
The higher flows will take an estimated six hours to reach the Champa Street Bridge downstream, officials said, so the public should not attempt to cross or access Cherry Creek on Wednesday, May 20.
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“Higher flush releases may cause minor flooding at low-level crossings or access points downstream of the dam including bike paths” Maxwell said. “Of notable concern to us are the potential impacts to unhoused people in the vicinity of the creek who may not be aware of these releases.”
The annual flushing helps keep the gates clear of sediment so the gates can operate reliably when needed to help reduce downstream flood risk to people and property.
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