Per a press release from Denver Water, Antero Reservoir is set to be closed to recreation in 2026 following a brief period of public use.
Drought concerns are behind the closure, related to how Antero Reservoir has the highest ratio of evaporation-to-storage of any of Denver Water’s reservoirs. Given this reality, the water that’s in Antero Reservoir will be moved to Cheesman Reservoir. This move is expected to prevent roughly 5,000 acre-feet of water evaporation with one acre-foot of water being enough to cover the annual water use of three to four single-family households. In other words, moving the water to Cheesman Reservoir is expected to preserve enough water to satisfy the needs of 15,000 to 20,000 single-family households. Per Denver Water’s latest report, the reservoir has a capacity of 20,122 acre-feet and is 88 percent full.
According to a press release from Denver Water, Antero Reservoir is considered a “drought reservoir,” used to provide water when severe drought is present. The consolidation of its water with that of Cheesman Reservoir will mean that more water is ultimately available. It’s also worth noting that the move will allow Denver Water to rely more heavily on its South Platte River Basin supplies opposed to using more water from west of the Continental Divide where more extreme drought is present…