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. 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).

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 and to serve as a source for bedrock aquifer storage. To manage the District’s water supplies, the proposed project will be built as a 135-foot high, 5,300-foot long dam that will impound approximately 16,200 acre-feet (ac-ft) and inundate approximately 470 acres.

The water supply to Rueter-Hess Reservoir will come from (a) in-priority Cherry Creek surface flows, (b) in-priority Cherry Creek alluvial ground water, (c) advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) effluent storage by exchange from Cherry Creek, and (d) in-priority surface flows in Newlin Gulch. Therefore, the District is developing this reservoir project 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 initiated 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.

• Reservoir Operational Philosophy
• Reservoir Site
• Historical Reservoir Development Studies
• Preliminary Work Completed at Rueter-Hess
• Proposed Development of Reservoir
• Ancillary Facilities
• Operational Plan
• Conclusions