Free River – Positive Impacts

All Things Must Pass!

With apologies to George Harrison, the free river conditions that have been so beneficial to junior water storage rights such as Rueter-Hess Reservoir near Parker have come to an end.The extended free river condition for Rueter-Hess Reservoir on Cherry Creek came to an end on Sunday, July 16, after 64 straight days of free river conditions!

During that time frame, Parker Water and Sanitation District (“Parker Water”) was able to store 5,085 acre-feet of water. The reservoir surface area currently covers over a square mile and the depth of the reservoir has increased approximately 8.8 feet since the free river conditions began on May 12!

How important is this storage to Parker Water’s supply? The free river water is diverted at the existing Cherry Creek Pump Station located just south of Stroh Road off Parker Road. The only cost in storing this water is to pump it from Cherry Creek over the hill and into Rueter-Hess Reservoir, which is situated on Newlin Gulch, a tributary to Cherry Creek.

For the cost of pumping this water, Parker Water, in the course of about two months, has stored enough water to fully serve approximately 12,700 single-family homes. There is the additional cost of treating the water prior to distribution to customers, but that’s a pretty efficient water supply component of the Parker Water system!