The good, the bad and the ugly of record-high rainfall in the Denver metro area
When it provides vibrant green grass, supports the growth of native wildflowers and feeds our reservoirs, there is beauty in rain. But it also comes with a dark side as storms can wreak havoc and damage homes, vehicles and roadways.
This spring, parts of the Denver metro area saw record breaking amounts of rain along with a longer and more consistent rain pattern.
“It’s almost biblical in nature,” said Bryan Weimer, Arapahoe County director of public works and development.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Douglas, Arapahoe and Jefferson counties have seen rainfall above average.
Over the past 129 years, Douglas County saw its fourth wettest May on record with 3.63 inches above normal, making it the 13th wettest year on record.
Arapahoe County saw its fifth wettest May with 3.29 inches of rain above normal and Jefferson County saw its 7th wettest May with 2.28 inches of rain above normal.
While some may have loved the gloomy days, listening to the sound of rain falling, for others, it posed an ongoing issue as well as citizen safety.
Roadway damage
When looking at the infrastructure of roadways, Matt Williams, the Douglas County assistant director of public works engineering said there are drainage design standards and criteria that engineers must follow and must look at minor and major storms.
As rain persisted, streets flooded, cracks in the road turned into potholes and sinkholes began to open in various counties.
There are different types of cracking in roadways and when water infiltrates the subgrade and people start driving over it, the asphalt starts to move around and breaks up, causing a pothole.
According to Weimer, Arapahoe County has dealt with an increasing number of potholes.
“Our potholes overall through the second quarter are up almost 70%,” said Weimer. “They’re at 69% of what we experience and just looking at quarter two - when we were receiving all this rain - is up 103% from the previous year.”
In addition, Weimer said since May 11 the county is approaching a total of 15 roadway closures, with some already repaired.
Operations Manager Carlos Atencio of Jefferson County roads and bridges said this season has felt like chasing their own tails due to the consistency of the rains.
In the beginning of the spring, Jefferson County maintenance crews focus on drainage issues caused by runoff from the mountain snow. They are cleaning ditches and getting ready to resurface roads.
“When a storm comes in, typically what that does is it completely unravels everything, all the work that we’ve done,” said Atencio. “And for every storm that comes in, it just compounds that problem. Our district supervisors know where the problems are, so they know exactly where to go after a storm to get the crews back out.”
Atencio said this does take away and delay some of the pothole patching.
Douglas County’s Assistant Director of Operations of Public Works Daniel Roberts said the department has not seen a significant increase in pavement damage due to the moisture and no significant flooding impacts have hit the major roadways.
When it comes to repairs, public works has to wait for water levels to go down.
“Just because the weather looks better doesn’t mean that we’re able to get in and fix it yet,” said Anders Nelson, Arapahoe County public information officer. “They have to wait for the right conditions to make sure that it’s a solid fix.”
There is also the potential for a total washout of a roadway.
“It may be a size of a storm that is greater than that culvert could handle,” said Weimer. “It could be debris that blocks the culvert, once the water starts building up, then it starts overflowing the roadway and then starts eating back on that road and potentially fails.”
Culvert failures were the primary source behind the numerous sinkholes in June.
On June 11 a sinkhole opened on the shoulder of a rural road southeast of the Town of Parker, resulting in authorities having to close Flintwood Road.
Heavy rainfall also led to another sinkhole to open in the Town of Parker on June 11 which has indefinitely closed down Bradbury Ranch Drive. On the bad side, the repairs are likely going to cost more than $300,000.
June 12, the City of Littleton closed Jackass Hill Road indefinitely following a sinkhole that collapsed under a moving car.
During a storm on June 22, a sinkhole on Oxford Avenue opened, resulting in a road closure from Santa Fe Drive to Windermere/Navajo streets in Englewood.
In Douglas County, the department has been videotaping the storm sewers for the past five years to manage the pipes.
“We were videotaping those because our infrastructure is starting to get to that age, so we just want to make sure that we can avoid a sinkhole in the future,” said Williams.
As this is a semi-arid region of the country, Williams said that it’s not common to see standing water around but with the back to back storms the area has had, residents are going to see it for some time.
“Our storm drainage system is functioning exactly how it’s designed to function,” said Williams.
Home and vehicle damage and bodily harm
The damage caused by rain and thunderstorms has also impacted residents' homes in various ways as well as vehicles and has currently proven to cause bodily harm.
Large hail is not the only source of bodily harm, mosquitos enhance the possibility of an increase in West Nile virus cases.
Dr. Mark Montano, medical director of CareNow Urgent Care Clinics, said the added rainfall this spring means residents should think about mosquito bite prevention.
Although some say it is a pretty light show, lightning strikes are hard to prevent. First responders have responded to lightning strikes.
On June 11, South Metro Fire Rescue shared on social media when they responded to a residential fire caused by a lightning strike to the roof.
According to the post, crews on scene reported smoke coming from the home as there was an active fire underneath the roof line.
The metro area has also experienced multiple hail storms, producing hail from the size of pea all the way to the size of an apple.
For one family, the continuous rain and hail have caused unprecedented flooding, hail damage and the loss of precious belongings.
During a heavy rainfall on May 10, Debbie and Doug Osborne’s house began to flood.
“We had ridiculous rain,” said Debbie. “That was when we first noticed the water coming in, and it came in our chimney - it flooded through our chimney flue and it came in groundwater like around the foundation.”
The lower level of their home is 1,1800 square feet and 100% finished with two bedrooms, a family room, bathroom, an office and a hallway filled up with three inches of water. This is the living space for their adult son who has special needs.
“Wall to wall, there wasn’t one inch of dry spot,” said Debbie.
Rainfall impacts on mental health
Whether it’s stress from storm damage or the consistent gloomy look outside, rainfall does have an effect on one's mental health.
Stormy weather can cause anxiousness and nervousness in a person as many people are unsettled by that type of weather.
Gloomy weather can also cause some to experience Seasonal Affective Disorder. According to Vincent Atchity, president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado it can be tied to things like dampness and darkness.
The National Institute of Mental Health defines Seasonal Affective Disorder as short periods of feeling sad or not like your usual self.
While scientists do not know the exact cause for Seasonal Affective Disorder, Atchity said for those who feel it, that they should look to cultural remedies that stem from rainy cultures such as the British and Irish cultures, even Seattle.
“They need to have sets of personal practices that they can beg, borrow and steal from others in other cultures to swerve themselves up during the dark times of the year,” said Atchity. “Have to have a personal tool kit of the go-to comforts.”
Atchity also encourages people to stand, walk and feel the rain as it can have a positive effect on the brain.
“It is what stitches us together and makes it possible to live,” said Atchity. “It’s one of the ready accessible check-ins from the world to remind us that we are not separate from everything else, we are part of the system and the flow of water is at the heart of it.”
Being in the rain is a great refreshing check in with reality, said Atchity.
Positive environmental impacts
All the rain has been beneficial for the environment and has brought the metro area out of drought.
The Centennial Water and Sanitation District, which provides services to Solstice and Highlands Ranch, voted to remove restrictions in May as the area was out of drought conditions for the first time since September 2021.
Rain goes into streams which then go into reservoirs. The U.S. Geological Survey produces maps of real-time streamflow conditions.
With major streams like Plum Creek, Cherry Creek, Newlin Gulch, Clear Creek, Bear Creek and Platte River, streamflow across Douglas County ranges from above normal to record high while Jefferson County ranges from normal to above and high, according to its latest update on June 28.
Within the metro area, Cherry Creek near Parker has reached record high levels of water which has helped the storage levels in Rueter-Hess Reservoir.
According to Ron Redd, district manager of the Parker Water and Sanitation District, the reservoir is close to reaching 20,000 acre feet.
Another reservoir that has been filled is Chatfield Reservoir, which is utilized by the town of Castle Rock.
Mark Marlowe, director of Castle Rock water, said water demands are down and the area is out of drought conditions.
“Usually our water demands this time of year are somewhere between 12 and 19 million gallons a day,” said Marlowe. “We’ve been seeing demands between six and 11 million gallons a day, so roughly half of what we normally see.”
However, there can be too much of a good thing.
The flashy storms that have brought a lot of water to Plum Creek quickly present challenges as it is damaging the diversion infrastructure along the creek, said Marlowe.
The other diversion on the creek has remained in service but is requiring a huge amount of maintenance according to Marlowe because the creek is carrying a lot more sand and sediment than it normally would due to the high flows and debris such as tree stumps and logs.
This also affects the water quality and which in turn increases water treatment costs.
Although heavy rain can sometimes be harmful, beauty can result from it. The rains have helped wildflowers to bloom and have allowed the wildlife and insects to reap the benefits.
The semi-arid land makes it hard for plants and pollinators to survive, however, the rain helped the growth and abundance of wildflowers and native plants, which means that there is more food for animals, shelter, soil stabilization and beauty.
“When you take away the vegetation, then you also take away the ability for this soil to stay stable,” said Sandy Holcomb, Highlands Ranch Metro District park ranger. “So not only does it provide shelter for animals, we got pollinators and this is also a stabilization for soil.”
Native plants grow each year but the rain has increased the frequency of the plants.
Larkspur have been more prominent, cottonwoods are growing seed and one plant that has thrived is yucca.
“The water has been so good to them this year that they’re blooming like mad,” said Holcomb. “Usually you don’t see quite as many.”
The diversity of the plants include butterfly milkweed, prickly poppies, spiderwort, blue flax, chokecherries, three leaf sumac and purple prairie clover.
While this spring brought a different kind of weather pattern to the metro area, there is so much beauty that has resulted from it.
Haley Lena hlena@coloradocommunitymedia.com