Home

Project Information

Project Maps

Meetings

Reports

Contacts

Welcome to the project website for the

Sand Creek (Colfax to Yale)
Major Drainageway Plan and
Flood Hazard Area Delineation

This Project is Sponsored By:

Urban Drainage and Flood Control District

City of Aurora

Southeast Metro Stormwater Authority

In Cooperation With:

Project Summary:

Sand Creek is a combination of the watersheds of Coal Creek, Senac Creek and Murphy Creek. The watershed originates in Douglas County and includes Aurora Reservoir. The confluence of Coal Creek and Murphy Creek joining to form Sand Creek is located near E-470 and I-70.

The project area for the purposes of floodplain analysis, alternative analysis and project recommendations, is approximately 13.7 square miles from Colfax Avenue upstream to Yale Avenue. However, the hydrologic study evaluates the entire watershed upstream and includes approximately 104 square miles.

Sand Creek flows in a northwesterly direction until its confluence with the South Platte River.  The project scope includes preparation of both a Major Drainageway Plan (MDP) and a Flood Hazard Area Delineation (FHAD) for the portion of the Sand Creek watershed upstream of Colfax Avenue.  Included in the major drainageway plan are the two tributaries of Coal Creek and Murphy Creek.

The watershed is primarily undeveloped today, however, the City of Aurora and Arapahoe County have approved several development plans within the watershed.

Goals of the MDP include development of watershed hydrology that reflects both existing and future conditions; identification of potential problem areas; development of drainage improvement alternatives to alleviate the identified problems; selection of a preferred drainage improvement alternative; preliminary design of the preferred alternative, and development of estimates of probable costs for the preferred alternative. Interim deliverables will include: a Baseline Hydrology Report, an Alternatives Evaluation (Phase A) Report, and a Conceptual Preliminary Design (Phase B) Report.  The final deliverable will be a Planning Report in the form of an electronic plan. 

The FHAD will update the floodplain along Sand Creek, Coal Creek and lower Murphy Creek and provide the information needed for management of the floodplain by local municipalities.  If requested by the project sponsors, information developed for the FHAD will be submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to revise the effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps for Sand Creek.

Public Feedback:

Do you have ideas, suggestions, or comments about the project that you'd like to share with the project team? Do you want to be contacted regarding future project meetings and activities? We want to hear from you!

Please direct your feedback to: