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Cherry Creek Dam and Lake

Cherry Creek Dam and Lake was the first of the three dam and reservoir projects built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to collectively lower the risks to the Denver region from catastrophic flooding that plagued the region for centuries.  When not operating the dam to reduce flood impacts, USACE stores and releases water for recreation, water quality, and to support fish and wildlife with its partners, Colorado State Parks and the cities of Denver, Greenwood Village, and Aurora.

Construction of the dam was completed in the early 1950s at the southeast edge of Denver in Aurora, Colo. Cherry Creek Lake, the reservoir behind the dam, lies on Cherry Creek at its confluence with Cottonwood Creek. The dam consists of an earthen embankment, an outlet structure for releasing stored water, and a spillway through which excess water can flow into the adjacent Toll Gate and Sand Creek drainage basins during times of extreme runoff from rain and snowmelt. More detailed information about the project’s features are available here.

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Cherry Creek Dam
Cherry Creek Dam was the first of the three dams to be built to lower the risks to the Denver region from catastrophic South Platte River floodwaters that plagued the area for more than 100 years. Located at the southeast edge of Denver in Aurora, Colo., construction of the dam began in 1948 and completed in 1950.
Cherry Creek Reservoir
Cherry Creek Reservoir lies on Cherry Creek at its confluence with Cottonwood Creek, at the southeast edge of the Denver metropolitan area in Arapahoe County. Under normal conditions, the reservoir is 1.3 miles long, with an average depth of almost 15 feet, a surface area of 875 acres, and a storage capacity of 12,885 acre-feet of water. Approximately 390 square miles drains into Cherry Creek Reservoir.
Cherry Creek Dam Outlet Structure
The Cherry Creek Dam outlet manages reservoir levels by releasing water from the reservoir to downstream users. Release rates are generally less than 100 cubic feet of water per second. The outlet structure can release water at a rate of up to 10,000 cfs. when operating to reduce flood risks during periods of high runoff. One cubic foot of water, or cfs, is equivalent to 7.5 gallons.
Cherry Creek Dam Spillway
Looking south toward the reservoir and distant mountains, USACE cleared the 3-mile long spillway in 2021 to restore space for the spillway’s estimated maximum flow. This also helps ensure that high flows, while unlikely, would not push accumulated material downstream through the channel and into Toll Gate Creek.

Recreation

Cherry Creek Lake lies on Cherry Creek at its confluence with Cottonwood Creek, at the southeast edge of Denver. The lake is 3.25 miles long and has an average depth of 46 feet. The lake drains an area of approximately 390 square miles. The 840-surface-acre lake has a storage capacity of 12,558 acre-feet at normal pool.

Reducing Flood Risk

During normal operations, the outlet structure provides water to downstream users and releases are generally less than 100 cubic feet of water per second. One cubic foot of water, or cfs, is equal to 7.5 gallons. As operations shift to reducing flood risks during periods of high runoff, the outlet structure is used to manage the reservoir elevations and can release up to 10,000 cfs if needed. The spillway is now designed to additionally pass up to 45,000 cfs. For perspective, the largest release of water from Cherry Creek Dam as a result of flooding was approximately 560 cfs from the outlet structure in 1965. It is important to understand that the dam is designed to release far more than has been seen in the past and that this dam-or any other dam-does not eliminate flood risk.

Visit the National Inventory of Dams to learn more about our nation's dams and their role in reducing flood risk, or to view areas downstream of Cherry Creek that could flood under different scenarios.

Maintaining the Dam

As part of its Dam Safety Program, Omaha District conducts detailed engineering analyses to ensure its dams are reduce risks to the public, property, and the environment to the extent possible. Dam safety standards and practices are continually updated to improve the maintenance and operation of dams to ensure they can reliably serve their original purposes. In addition, dam safety engineers across federal and state agencies share information as they learn about the performance of flood risk reduction structures built over many decades. They now use more precise, modern technologies and apply up-to-date science to reduce flood risk more effectively. Cherry Creek Dam is operating as designed but in the unlikely case of uncontrolled reservoir releases, significant consequences could impact downstream populations, including numerous urban centers in the metropolitan area.

An annual sediment flush helps maintain the dam’s flow reliability. Learn more about the Cherry Creek Dam sediment flush here: FLUSHING SEDIMENT HELPS MAINTAIN CHERRY CREEK DAM FLOW RELIABILITY

 Visit the National Inventory of Dams to learn more about how dams work and Cherry Creek Dam’s risk assessments.

Cherry Creek Pool Elevations

Cherry Creek Pool Elevations Graphic