Understanding Your Flood Hazard

Many parts of this country and the world each year experience catastrophic and deadly flooding. Fortunately, Wheat Ridge has not had a 100-year flood on any of its streams since becoming a City in 1969, that does not mean properties within the City are immune to future flooding.

Almost everyone is at risk of flooding, no matter their home or business location. For properties outside of a mapped floodplain, the risk is lower. However,  almost 2/3 of all flood claims in Wheat Ridge have been for properties outside the mapped floodplains.

For those properties in one of the mapped floodplains, the chance of being flooded in any given year is at least 1 percent. Over the life of a 30-year mortgage, there is at least a 26 percent chance of being flooded. 

Properties in a mapped floodplain are nine times more likely to be flooded than to catch on fire. While a standard homeowner’s policy typically covers fire damage, losses due to flooding are not typically covered.

Flooding is one of the hazards included in the 2021 Jefferson County Multi-Hazard Plan (MHP). In addition to a lengthy discussion of countywide hazards, the MHP includes an Annex specifically for Wheat Ridge. The Annex includes both potential and historical hazard events for the City and mitigation actions specific to the City. For more information on the MHP, visit: JeffCo Hazard-Mitigation-Plan

For those properties within the Clear Creek floodplain, there is the stream gauge on Clear Creek upstream of Golden. This is the nearest stream gauge to the City of Wheat Ridge and provides a good indicator of what is happening in Clear Creek. The depth and flow information can be found here: USGS Water Data. Different time periods can be selected to see the trends in the flows and/or the gauge height over a period of time. The data is nearly live with less than a one-hour delay. 

For information on flood notifications and warnings, visit: WEBPAGE LINK[MW1]