BENEFITS TO AURORA
Enhanced Reliability and Resiliency
Aurora’s water comes primarily from surface water from three river basins — the South Platte (50%), the Colorado (25%) and the Arkansas (25%). The water from the Colorado and Arkansas River basins are transported into the South Platte by the Otero pipeline. Like many cities, Aurora’s water infrastructure is aging which makes it more susceptible to outages that are both planned and unplanned. Climate change has created prolonged periods of droughts, flooding and increased the incidence of wildfires. Wild Horse Reservoir would allow Aurora to continue to draw on stored water in the event of an Otero Conveyance System outage, enhancing the water system’s reliability and resiliency during emergencies. Another bucket to store water gives Aurora more flexibility in managing these critical water rights.
Meeting Future Demand through Potable Reuse
Aurora’s potable reuse system is a critical way the city will meet future water demands. As the city grows, water delivered through the reuse system will expand. Wild Horse Reservoir would substantially enhance the City’s ability to operate its water reuse systems consistently and improve overall system efficiency and flexibility. Wild Horse Reservoir would provide additional storage to help the city manage the water it needs to expand its water reuse system.
