Denver Water will empty this summer, moving the water downstream to minimize water lost to evaporation during .
The utility — which serves 1.5 million people across the Denver metro — on Monday announced its plans to drain the Park County reservoir, located on the Middle Fork of the South Platte River south of Fairplay. Recreation at the reservoir will close through the end of the year, including camping.
Denver Water officials did not give an exact date when the draining would begin or when recreational access would close.
The water in Antero Reservoir will be moved downstream to Cheesman Reservoir, southwest of Deckers. The move will save 5,000 acre-feet of water from evaporating from the surface of Antero Reservoir, which has the highest evaporative rate of Denver Water’s reservoirs.
An acre-foot of water equals the approximate annual water use of three to four households, according to the utility. When full, Antero Reservoir can hold more than 20,000 acre-feet. It was 88% full on Monday.
“Antero is a drought reservoir, designed to provide water to our customers during a severe drought,” Nathan Elder, the manager of water supply for Denver Water, said in a news release. “Consolidating this water into Cheesman will help us make the most of the water we have.”
Water managers will work with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to minimize fish deaths in the reservoir, according to the news release. Antero is popular with anglers year-round.
Denver Water officials will decide when to refill the reservoir based on drought conditions.
The reservoir was last drained in response to drought in 2002. Denver Water also emptied the reservoir in 2015 for dam rehabilitation.
