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District's Preferred Storage Options Plan process, because Aurora has been considered an <br />"outside" from in -basin water users' perspectives. <br />2. South Platte Basin <br />Water providers in the South Platte basin are currently pursuing a wide range of water supply <br />development options that reflect the varying circumstances in each portion of the basin. To <br />simplify the description of these options we have divided the basin into southern, central and <br />northern portions. <br />a) South Platte Basin - Southern Portion <br />In the southern metro Denver area, Douglas County water providers are working with Denver <br />Water and the Colorado River Water Conservation District to develop a regional conjunctive use <br />project. The project would incorporate new storage (aquifer recharge and off - channel <br />reservoirs), water reuse, and water conservation into a sustainable water supply future for <br />Douglas County and a back -up drought year groundwater supply for Denver Water. The project <br />would recharge Denver Basin aquifers beneath Douglas County with unappropriated water from <br />the South Platte and Blue River basins. It would include a system of alluvial wells, small <br />regulating reservoirs and enhanced treatment facilities to reuse fully Douglas County providers' <br />reusable return flows. It would also feature enhanced water conservation measures designed to <br />reduce the consumptive use of municipal water in Douglas County, thereby decreasing the <br />region's depletion of groundwater. Capture of unappropriated South Platte and Blue River <br />waters would be accomplished by more intensive operation of Denver's existing reservoirs <br />coupled with back -up groundwater supply for Denver. <br />Individual providers in the south metro Denver area are also pursuing a variety of storage and <br />pipeline projects. Parker Water & Sanitation District is planning to build Rueter Hess Reservoir, <br />a 15,000 acre -foot off channel reservoir on Newlin Gulch, located southwest of Parker. The <br />Rueter Hess project would be used to capture and blend Parker's reusable return flows with <br />storable flows from Cherry Creek for potable use within Parker. The East Cherry Creek Water <br />& Sanitation District is planning to build two raw water pipelines to deliver recently acquired <br />groundwater rights and contract rights from Denver Water. Other nearby providers may join in <br />this pipeline. East Cherry Creek is also working with Aurora, Cottonwood Water & Sanitation <br />District and Arapahoe County Water & Wastewater Authority to implement the Upper Cherry <br />Creek Water Management Project, a regional augmentation plan designed to increase the yield <br />and reliability of the participants' alluvial wells in Cherry Creek upstream of Cherry Creek <br />Reservoir. Centennial Water & Sanitation District is finishing the construction of its 6,000 acre - <br />foot South Platte Reservoir, a gravel pit storage facility that will optimize the district's reuse and <br />exchange rights and allow for capture of South Platte runoff. Several other Douglas County <br />providers are pursuing similar small -scale projects. <br />A few providers and political interests in Douglas and Arapahoe Counties are actively pursuing a <br />new transbasin diversion project from the Gunnison River basin, although no specific projects <br />are currently being proposed. <br />36 <br />