WHY WILD HORSE RESERVOIR

The Colorado Water Plan projects a significant gap in water supply statewide by 2050, and projects like Wild Horse Reservoir are being planned to help meet that need. A new Aurora reservoir is identified in the Colorado Water Plan as a project needed to meet the water supply gap within the South Platte River Basin. Wild Horse Reservoir is one of the potential water supply projects Aurora considered in its 2022 Integrated Water Master Plan Update.

The Wild Horse Reservoir is a critical component of infrastructure needed to ensure sustainable water deliveries to meet future demands and to enhance resilience during droughts or emergencies.

Colorado’s extreme weather patterns are producing more intense droughts followed by some very wet years. Wild Horse Reservoir would provide an additional water savings account. Aurora would bank water in wet years, as well as the water saved through conservation, to use in dry times.