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Denver Water has introduced plans to switch water from Antero Reservoir to Cheesman Reservoir as a part of a drought response effort pushed by traditionally low snowpack ranges throughout Colorado.
The transfer is predicted to protect roughly 5,000 acre-feet of water, about 25% of Antero’s whole storage capability, that will in any other case be misplaced to evaporation. To place that in perspective, one acre-foot provides the annual water wants of three to 4 common households. Antero carries the best evaporation-to-storage ratio of any reservoir in Denver Water’s system, making it significantly susceptible throughout dry years.
“A whole lot of forethought and planning went into our assortment system and reservoirs. Antero is a drought reservoir, designed to supply water to our clients throughout a extreme drought. Consolidating this water into Cheesman will assist us benefit from the water we now have.” – Nathan Elder, supervisor of water provide for Denver Water.
The switch additionally offers the utility extra flexibility to attract from South Platte River Basin provides, easing strain on sources west of the Continental Divide which can be additionally operating beneath regular following what officers described as an abysmal snowpack and runoff season. In a typical 12 months, evaporative losses are replenished by the next runoff season. That restoration will not be anticipated in 2026.
Denver Water is coordinating with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to relocate fish earlier than the reservoir closes. The general public could have a short window to entry Antero earlier than it shuts down, after which no recreation or tenting can be permitted for the rest of 2026.
Drought situations will dictate when, or whether or not, the reservoir will be refilled. Antero was beforehand drained in the course of the 2002 drought and was emptied once more in 2015 for dam rehabilitation. A deliberate drainage in 2013 was averted solely after late-season snowstorms supplied reduction.
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