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<br />Denver Post.com - Denver may drain Antero <br /> <br />Page 2 0(5 <br /> <br />'. <br /> <br />Denver Water also plans to drain 20,000 to <br />30,000 acre-feet of water from <br /> <br />Elevenmile Reservoir, lowering the level from 12 <br />to 15 vertical feet farther down the main stem of <br />the Platte near Lake George, <br /> <br />Water from Antero and Elevenmile would be <br />stored downstream at the agency's Cheesman <br />Reservoir, currently at just 32 percent of capacity <br />and falling rapidly from Denver-area water <br />demands. <br /> <br />Officials said the water shift involves an overall <br />need to conserve water while providing a sufficient <br />source of clean water for the Foothills Treatment <br />Plant - Denver's largest - in the wake of the <br />Hayman fire, <br /> <br />The agency fears that flash floods might flush <br />large quantities of ash into the system, clogging a <br />facility already under strain, The Marston Plant, <br />the other treatment facility in the Platte system, is <br />operating at half capacity due to repairs, <br /> <br />"We're faced with the effects of the biggest <br />drought and biggest fire. We'd be irresponsible If <br />we didn't maximize our system," Earle said, <br /> <br />This eventuality would be a bitter blow to a wildlife <br />agency fighting its own drought-related battles <br />that almost certainly will result in the loss of fish <br />in other lakes and streams, <br /> <br />After Antero was drained in 1997 for dam repair, <br />DOW developed it into a prime fishery filled with <br />several species of trophy trout, Puttmann said an <br />all-out effort will be launched to salvage fish and <br />move them to nearby Spinney Reservoir, a city of <br />Aurora impoundment where trout are in short <br />supply, <br /> <br />Drawing down Elevenmile would cause little <br />environmental consequences at a large, deep <br />reservoir that at 3,400 surface acres ranks as the <br />largest in the Denver system, The drawdown likely <br />would be that boat ramps couldn't be used. <br /> <br />"Our chief concern is what's happening to <br />Cheesman and doing something to protect it," <br />Earle said, <br /> <br />The other worry is about ash. <br /> <br />"Two-thirds of the Hayman fire occurred above <br /> <br />http://www.denverpost.comlStories/0.1413.36%7E53%7E736142%7E.00.htm1 <br /> <br />7/17/2002 <br />