just got back from turning in my bear creek parks pass for a refund.for the second time in three years the lake is unuseable for boating due to extreme flooding.apparently its going to be out of commission for the next two months and even when it does open the idea of all the sewage from the flooded restrooms is very un appealing to me.not sure why the need to hold so much water back due to a little rain but apparently its know ones decision to do so. not the parks,not denver water, not city of lakewood at least know body is saying. I've fished and used this park for over twenty five years and have even spent time volunteering there to help the cause. no more!after hitting your head against a wall so long you finally realize it hurts.i urge anyone that has a pass to turn it in and voice your opposition to what they are doing there.
the trashing of bear creek lake
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Isn't Bear Creek Lake intended for flood control?
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Well said!
We rode our bikes from Chatfield down to REI and back this morning. The South Platte is bank to bank with flooding under a lot of the overpasses..a lot of detours near the river. There isn't anywhere else to put the water right now.
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Yep, I was REI on Thursday and the confluence was flooded, one of the employees there said it's been like that since the wet week we had.
Yeah, we rode it a couple of weeks ago and must have seen a couple dozen carpers..maybe fifty kayaks along the way and a bunch of kids tubing...Today...Two 16 foot Catarafts..no one else was near the water...Shoot..even the geese had herded their babies up away from the river and onto the trail..A lot of baby geese today..
Right now...that river could easily kill ya.
Right now...that river could easily kill ya.
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How do I go about doing this? I bought an annual for my car and one for my wife's car. If I can't fish it, what's the point?
well since its a flood control lake you should just gladly give up your money to the cause. but if your like me and don't want to do that go to the visitor center,fill out the form they give you and turn in your pass.apparently I'm not the only one that feels this way.the lake will not be in use for two months according to the lady at the gate.
Army Corps makes the call on how much water they hold back. No one else. Cherry Creek, Chatfield, John Martin and Bear Creek all where built with one purpose, flood control. Just look at the height of the dams compared to the normal water level, compare it to Pueblo, Granby and Eleven Mile. They keep them low to prevent large floods. If they had an Army Corps dam on Boulder Creek, St Vrain Creek, Poudre or the Big Thompson; a lot of the flooding in 2013 wouldn't have happened.
I think it is very nice they are willing to give you a refund.
If the shitters overfilled and spilled into Granby, it would be a helpful thing, at least for Koke forage base.
I think it is very nice they are willing to give you a refund.
If the shitters overfilled and spilled into Granby, it would be a helpful thing, at least for Koke forage base.
Bear Creek is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers (if you want to complain to someone). They are managing many reservoirs in the system to limit flooding well downstream of what you are thinking of.
They didn't build that reservoir with 80 feet of freeboard for stocker trout...... Its for flood control.
They didn't build that reservoir with 80 feet of freeboard for stocker trout...... Its for flood control.
We wouldn't even have Bear Creek or Chatfield reservoirs at all...if not for flood control..Most probably don't remember why they were built. 1965..devastating losses.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/library/2013/06/14/1965-south-platte-river-floods/8735/
http://blogs.denverpost.com/library/2013/06/14/1965-south-platte-river-floods/8735/
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Another cool little read on the 1965 flood. Someone linked it on another thread on here. The pictures in the Post link are crazy.
http://www.westword.com/news/the-1965-flood-how-denvers-greatest-disaster-changed-the-city-6668119
http://www.westword.com/news/the-1965-flood-how-denvers-greatest-disaster-changed-the-city-6668119
Good read..My family and I were vacationing in Monument for a week in 65...staying at the Monument Lake Resort..overlooking the lake. It rained hard the entire time we were there..Mom had said she'd never come back again...was adamant about it. The tornado in Palmer Lake hit two days after we left. Four years later Dad was transferred from SAC in Omaha to Norad. He bought the house next door to the Lake Resort and Mom has been there ever since.
Hope this crappy weather doesn't last through June.
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Bwaha! "Remember?" Most of us weren't even born.
Cool time capsule. Vietnam war article on the same page... $540M in damage. That would be over $2B today. The biggest toll: 21 dead. I would have never thought that this could happen in Colorado.
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Two years old! :biggrin1:
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I lived in Aurora during the 65 floods. (Graduated HS in 66). Remember driving down to see all the flooding and damage. It was an eye opener. Have bought homes well above the flood plane in all the areas I lived over the years. While in Oregon I remember floods on the Columbia River. We had to evacuate broken planes and helos in fear the levee near the airport would break. Somewhere I have a picture of several helos and F-15's parked in the local golf course parking lot.
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