S O U T H
M E T R O
VOLUME 36 • NUMBER 20 • APRIL 5, 2018
Since 1982
www.villagerpublishing.com
TheVillagerNewspaper
@VillagerDenver
$2.128 million Greenwood Gulch-Holly to High Line Canal gets underway In 1998, homes in the area of Orchard Road and Holly Street, and those upstream were being constructed at a steady clip, resulting in more pavement and less raw ground that could absorb water every year. Greenwood Gulch had suffered significant erosion and deterioration. Greenwood Village, along with the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (FCD), designed and built what was to be a wide, flat, self-sustaining wetlands restoration project in Greenwood Gulch to produce clean water and serve as a wildlife habitat. In the years that followed, nearby residents noticed that the project was not working as planned, but they were unable to get the attention of anyone who was in a position to help. Finally, in 2014, the community got a response from the GV public
works department, who started to assess the performance of the gulch, which had been essentially without maintenance since it was built. Years of deposited sediments and the expansion of cattails had resulted in changes to the water flow. Moderate rains were causing frequent trail and private property flooding, approaching the 100-year floodplain boundary. GV public works, FCD, and consulting engineers began to craft a long-term solution to a problem that had built up over nearly two decades. The first thing they determined was that they needed to redesign and replace a new pedestrian crossing that was much larger than the existing one during dry periods. That is the initial phase of this project and will consist of 1,900 linear feet of the low flow channel. Additional project goals were identified in 2015 and 2016
Preparing to remove the old pedestrian crossing in The Preserve.
were: 1) to improve water flow and movement of sediment; 2) to reduce the frequency of trail and property flooding; 3) to improve the ecological function of the gulch, and 4) to maintain the existing 100-year floodplain. The design was completed in 2017 and a required permit from the Army Corps of Engineers was finalized in March. In October 2017, through the concerted efforts of GV city council and staff, the required $2.128 million cost was all put into place. The $1.32
million is coming from the GV capital improvement fund, $621,000 is being provided by Urban Drainage FCD, and $187,500 is from Arapahoe County open space grant funds. The project is already underway and should be completed this year. Once finished, water is expected to move slowly and capture debris, which will be deposited in a sediment basin that will be emptied regularly by city staff. Cattail growth will be managed, along with other wetland turf
Rock is being poured to prevent heavy equipment from damaging the trail.
Photos by Freda Miklin
grasses. The water that flows through the gulch goes into the ponds in the Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve and eventually to the South Platte River. The project website, Greenwood Gulch-Holly to High Line Canal, is greenwoodvillage.com/2292/ Greenwood-Gulch-DrainageImprovements. The project manager is Justin Williams, P.E., engineering manager, who can be reached at 303708-6150 or jwilliams@ greenwoodvillage.com.