Plum Creek is a stream in
Douglas County, Colorado
Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 357,978. The county seat is Castle Rock.
Douglas County is part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado, metropolitan statistica ...
, United States. It is formed by the confluence of West Plum Creek and East Plum Creek near the intersection of North Perry Park Road and Manhart Avenue in
Sedalia.
Prior to the construction of
Chatfield Reservoir
Chatfield Dam and Reservoir is a dam and artificial lake located on the South Platte River, south of Littleton, Colorado. The dam and reservoir were built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a response to the disastrous flood of 1965. ...
in the 1960s and 1970s, Plum Creek merged with the
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sout ...
in far northern Douglas County. Now, however, it empties into the southern side of the reservoir itself, just west of
Santa Fe Drive and within the boundaries of
Chatfield State Park
Chatfield State Park is a state park located in Douglas and Jefferson counties of Colorado, United States. The park centers on Chatfield Reservoir, a 1,423 acre surface area lake fed by the South Platte River and two other creeks, including Plu ...
.
The Chatfield Storage Reallocation Project, scheduled to start in fall, 2017, will add capacity to Chatfield Reservoir and raise its level about 12 feet. This higher reservoir level will cause the mouth of the creek to move about 7,000 feet further upstream. As part of the expansion project, a mitigation project will also be undertaken to deal with increased sediment deposition and channel erosion along Plum Creek caused by increased
urban runoff
Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain , storms and other precipit ...
.
Sources
The two creeks that join to create Plum Creek — West Plum Creek and East Plum Creek — rise in the
Rampart Range
The Rampart Range is a mountain range in Douglas, El Paso, and Teller counties, Colorado. It is part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The range is almost entirely public land within the Pike National Forest
The Pike National Forest ...
.
West Plum Creek flows northward from the Rampart Range through the West Plum Creek Valley and the sparsely-populated, affluent community of
Perry Park, west of
Dawson Butte
Dawson Butte, elevation , is a flat-topped mountain in Douglas County, Colorado. Adjacent to the mountain is the Dawson Butte Open Space, owned by Douglas CountyKeene RanchDawson Butte Open Space Retrieved: 2017-02-09. and managed by the County's ...
.
East Plum Creek flows generally northward through
Castle Rock and then just south of
Castle Pines, Colorado
The City of Castle Pines is a home rule municipality located in Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 11,036 at the 2020 United States Census. Castle Pines is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan ...
towards its merger with West Plum Creek at Sedalia.
Influence on local names
Together, the three creeks give their names to various roads, businesses and other features in Douglas County. Examples include the Plum Creek Parkway in Castle Rock, the East Plum Creek Trail, and the Plum Creek Golf Club
in Castle Rock.
Catastrophic 1965 flood
Plum Creek experienced historically record rain fall and flooding in 1965. Over 14 inches of rain fell in under four hours in a concentrated part of the Plum Creek watershed on 16 June. The creek, the
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sout ...
,
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
and beyond experienced catastrophic flooding. Peak flows along Plum Creek and its two major tributaries, East and West Plum Creek" exceeded the "estimated 1965 flood peaks with the 100-year (1% annual chance) and 500-year (0.2% annual chance) published flow" by two to four times the 500-year predicted flood rate.
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See also
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List of rivers of Colorado
This is a list of streams in the U.S. State of Colorado.
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Alphabetical list
The following alphabetical list includes many important streams that flow through the State of Colorado, including all 158 named rivers. Where available, t ...
References
Rivers of Colorado
Rivers of Douglas County, Colorado
Tributaries of the Platte River
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