Castle Pines approves flood control project

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Most area residents may not notice it, but a small part of a body of water identi ed for its “deteriorating conditions” has long been a priority for local governments to address, and the Castle Pines City Council gave the green light for a project to make drainage and ood control improvements to the area.

On July 11, the council voted to move forward with the e ort to improve the “south fork” of the Spring e city approved a deal called an “intergovernmental agreement” with the Mile High Flood District, an entity that helps manage ood risk in the Denver metro area.

Tributary between Lagae Road and Interstate 25, stretching not far from the highway.

Lagae Road runs roughly parallel to I-25 between Castle Pines Parkway on the north and Happy Canyon Road on the south. Lagae sits west of I-25.

A joint planning study between Douglas County, the Town of Parker and Mile High Flood District in 1994 designated the area of the south fork of Spring Tributary between Lagae Road and I-25 as “high priority stabilization status,” a city sta report says. e report mentions the need to protect downstream resources such as the nearby Rueter-Hess Reser- voir. at’s a drinking-water storage facility owned and operated by the Parker Water and Sanitation District, the entity that provides drinking water to much of Parker and some nearby areas. Rueter-Hess also serves as a recreation spot.

“ is status was due to deteriorating conditions — i.e., excessive bank erosion — that were negatively impacting downstream resources along the stream corridor,” the sta report says.

Spring Tributary has seen signicant development of its immediate watershed — its nearby area — over the last several years.

“ is has brought about a signi cant increase in ows, especially