In recent months, Aurora Water selected a new site in Park County for a future reservoir to expand the city’s water storage capabilities.

On Wednesday, water officials shared project updates with 100 meeting attendees online, answering questions about the location, timeline and impacts of the project.

The reservoir, dubbed the Wild Horse Reservoir, will be built near Hartsel in Park County if all the permits for the project are approved, according to Aurora Water Assistant General Manager Sarah Young.

In a year of record low snowpack, conversations about future water needs across Colorado are front and center for water officials, and Colorado as a whole anticipates needing about 400,000 acre-feet, or more than 130 billion gallons, of new water storage in the next 20 years, according to Young.

An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land with one foot of water.

Without a new reservoir, Aurora Water anticipates dipping into its emergency water reserves by 2045, Young said.

Aurora has invested in water conservation efforts over the years, but needs more storage, Young said. Wild Horse Reservoir is intended to meet the city’s water needs reliably through 2075.

Initially, Aurora Water officials selected another site for the reservoir several miles north of the new location.

After reviewing alternative locations, officials shifted the proposed project site from the original location to the Wild Horse South Reservoir site, which has advantages over the original site, Young said.

Both locations sit southwest of the existing Spinney Mountain Reservoir.

Putting Wild Horse Reservoir in the new proposed location would not require pumping water, Young said. It would also only require one dam instead of the three dams required for the initial project site.

The location is off-channel, meaning it would not require dams blocking existing rivers, Young said.

Currently, Aurora Water is in the planning and pre-permitting phase of the project. As part of the National Environmental Policy Act process, the Bureau of Land Management identified several alternative reservoir locations for review.

In a video meeting Wednesday evening, about 100 people listened to Aurora Water officials discuss the new reservoir project and several asked questions in a written Q&A comment section during the meeting.

Commonly asked questions and the responses from officials are below. The responses, given by Young, are edited for length and clarity and include additional information from the project website.

Why not build the new reservoir in Aurora? Why Park County?

The main reason for the location in Park County is evaporation. Aurora is lower down in elevation and warmer, which leads to more water loss. At a higher elevation, there is less evaporation. It also has to do with the location’s proximity to existing Aurora water rights and the Otero Pipeline, which currently transports about half of Aurora’s water supply from the mountains to Spinney Mountain Reservoir.

What is the timeline for permitting?

The permitting process is expected to take at least a couple of years. Once permitting is complete, if it is approved, construction would take five to six years, and then it would take several years to fill the reservoir. “There’s still quite a timeline ahead of us,” Young said.

How will we fund this project?

The total project cost will be more than $1 billion, and will be funded by a combination of rate fees and connection fees. It is likely the project, which is included in a 10-year capital program, will require debt issuance and state and federal funding assistance. The exact configuration for funding isn’t entirely figured out. We are continuing to work through that as we work through project costs and timing, but we are confident we will have the ability to fund the project.

Will residents of Park County have access to the reservoir?

Yes, there is an intent to have recreation amenities associated with the reservoir. We will continue to get community feedback on what that looks like. We are exploring potential activities like fishing, boating, hiking and wildlife viewing.

What impact will this have on nearby landowners?

Knowing there are land and property owners in the area near the site was the most difficult part of this decision by far. We are very interested in finding a flexible solution for everyone. The proposed reservoir would require an agreement for use of land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and the acquisition of property from private landowners. Anyone with property in the area is encouraged to reach out to Aurora Water officials at WildHorseReservoir@AuroraGov.org.

A second event, a “lunch and learn,” will happen in-person on Friday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hartsel Fire Station, 131 Elm St.