Denver Storm Drainage Master Plan

This project comprehensively analyzed 155 square miles of urban development for necessary drainage infrastructure upgrades and improvements.

Major drainageways that were evaluated for the plan include the South Platte River, Cherry Creek, among others. The Plan serves as the single, integrated, authoritative reference for planning and programming for ongoing and future development of Denver’s stormwater drainage system.

Matrix provided expert technical support, innovative approaches that respect constraints and capitalized on opportunities, conducted workshops and public meetings to encourage support, and established a capital improvement program that matched construction with funding sources and provided prioritized infrastructure in timely manner.

The Matrix team prepared detailed hydrologic models using Urban Drainage CUHP & SWMM, completed field reconnaissance work to confirm the effectiveness of existing hydraulic features, and conducted interviews within individual drainage basins to obtain historic information on floods to ensure that system deficiencies were properly identified and that potential solutions could be developed that were compatible with the interests, values, and land uses of each neighbor. Basin-by-basin analyses enabled implementation plans and financing strategies that progressively improve facilities and establish potential cost recovery mechanisms to be created.

Watershed-based master planning also enabled water quality and quantity objectives to be fully integrated. The master plan also worked in conjunction with the City of Denver’s municipal NPDES permit to improve water quality and established best management practices. A treatment train approach was employed to layer on-site and regional controls to systematically achieve water quality objectives.

Client: City & County of Denver