Listening to what YOU want

The new development going in at 10700 W Exposition Dr is causing surrounding homeowners to worry about increased surface water runoff. Already, water must be pumped out of basements, in at least one place, at a 24/7 rate with two sump pumps. Water pours out at such a rate that GMWSD gets calls that a pipe may have burst. In fact, it's just ongoing, voluminous runoff cascading down to and along Kipling. In the winter, this causes huge frozen ponds in the streets that neighbors must take an axe to. The city does not provide relief for this problem. 

The developer says that they have drilled down and found no groundwater table. However, you can see the lake that exists when it rains, covering the temporary driveway to this land. So where does the water come from? 

One issue is that there is an overgrown ditch running behind the property. The ditch has not been cleaned or managed in years. City leaders and property owners have talked to the ditch company but with no results. That water causes leakage along the flow lines. Going back even further, we can take a look at the geological map for the area (shown above). Finding W Exposition on the map, you see that the road was built right down the middle of a pre-existing drainage - the yellow areas are (geologically) recent deposits mapped as stream alluvium. So this started out as a water collection area, and with increased development, pavement and ditch, you have an area that floods regularly, even in Colorado's relatively dry climate.

The problem has been identified. The solution? Ideally, increased, under-pavement drainage collections should have been built in the first place. Now, streets and sidewalks will have to be torn up to fix the problem. City leaders believe the expense is too onerous. So if you can't fix the problem, does that mean contributing to increased water runoff by developing more in that area? City planners hope that the new development will not do more damage. A bigger retention pond is part of the new development and with proper drainage, basements are possible in the new homes. 

The big question is if Lakewood can afford to keep pushing hard decisions down the road. It's easy to blame past planners for road placement, or the ditch company or nature itself. The problem remains for us to fix. Continuing to develop in areas with pre-existing problems and no solutions creates bigger problems for more residents.