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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Rueter-Hess Reservoir Project is a proposed off-stream reservoir that is located on Newlin Gulch, a tributary of Cherry Creek. This project is located approximately three miles southwest of the Town of Parker (Figure 1). The project is currently envisioned as a dam and reservoir that can provide terminal storage to manage the available water supplies for the Parker Water and Sanitation District (District), and eventually as a structure that can also manage regional water supplies. The reservoir can manage the available water resources through the direct use for municipal water supplies, for carryover storage to provide reliable yields in dry years, to Sl~rve as a source for bedrock aquifer storage, and/or to provide water releases that can be utilized by downstream users on Cherry Creek. The proposed project can be built as a 105-foot high, 2,000-foot long dam that would impound approximately 10,000 acre-feet (ac-ft) and inundate approximately 275 acres. Alternatively, it can be constructed as a 185-foot high dam, approximately 6,100 feet long, which would impound 55,000 ac-ft and inundate over 975 acres, or it could be built in stages, whereby the 10,000 ac-ft reservoir would be initially built, then enlarged to its ultimate capacity of 55,000 ac-ft when there are sufficient water demands to justify the enlargement. The water supply to Rueter-Hess Reservoir could come from (a) in-priority Cherry Creek surface flows, (b) in-priority Cherry Creek alluvial ground water, (c) advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) effluent storage, (d) in-priority surface flows in Newlin Gulch, and (e) pumping of Denver Basin aquifer wells into the reservoir. The District is also pursuing imported water supplies, including water rights from the South Platte River system currently owned by Denver Water and other potential imported water supply sources. However, none of these imported water supplies is currently available for District use and, therefore, the District is developing this reservoir project initially based on the in-basin supplies available. The District has initiated both environmental and geotechnical studies in preparation for the permitting processes that will be required prior to construction of Rueter-Hess Reservoir. These studies have not indicated anything that would preclude the development of the project. In fact, the few geotechnical and permitting issues identified to date can be mitigated. In 1999, the District will initiate the permitting process and conduct sufficient geotechnical engineering work to bring the project to preliminary design. The District anticipates having the Rueter- Hess Reservoir on line by the year 2005.