Reservoir may be ready by 2010

Bianca Prieto, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 5, 2006 at midnight

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PARKER - An expanded Rueter-Hess Reservoir, seen as a long- term solution to Douglas County's growing water problems, could be completed by 2010.

An update on the reservoir's progress was delivered Wednesday at the first annual Douglas County Water Summit, where dozens of officials came together to discuss plans for future water use.

The original 16,200 acre-feet reservoir was approved to serve the needs of Parker, said Parker Water and Sanitation District board chair Mark Lewis.

The expansion, which would add $80 million to the cost, would quadruple the reservoir's capacity to approximately 72,000 acre-feet and allow three additional communities - Castle Rock, Castle Pines North and Stonegate - to benefit.

Parker Water hopes to have the reservoir, including the expansion, completed by 2009 and filled by 2010, Lewis said.

Lewis told the crowd that construction of the original reservoir is on schedule, noting that the dam was completed last month.

Parker Water began construction on the original reservoir three miles southwest of Parker in 2004, but within a year applied for a permit to expand it.

The approval of the permit, which is still under review by the Army Corps of Engineers, would come as good news to residents of Douglas County, where underground water sources are being depleted.

"The reservoir is a means for providing the interim storage" of water from Cherry Creek and aquifer pumping, said Rodney Schwartz, of the Army Corps of Engineers.

"It's not a supply project, it's a water management tool that allows them to capture water that they would normally let go downstream," he added.

But before the expansion permit can be granted, the Corps has to review the environmental impact, assess the needs of the communities and seek alternatives to meet the demand for water.

"Until the Corps determines it is the least damaging, practical alternative, there is no guarantee," Schwartz said.

The decision could come as early as this spring, he said.

Parker Water began planning a reservoir and seeking ways to conserve water through metering and xeriscaping in the mid-1980s.

Studies on the effects of a potential reservoir began in 1996 and the permit to build was approved in 2004.

"Parker offered partnership to many communities but no one took it," said Frank Jaeger, Parker Water district manager. "Once we got more people involved, we immediately started applying for expansion."

The larger reservoir could provide water for more than 98,000 homes.

prietob@RockyMountainNews.com 303-954-5219

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