Click the link to read the article on The Flume website (Meryl Phair). Here’s an excerpt:
February 18, 2026
Plans for the Wild Horse Reservoir have recently updated the location of the proposed water reserve in Hartsel based on Aurora Water’s evaluation of several alternative locations in preparation for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Located southwest of Spinney Mountain Reservoir, the site will be shifting to the Wild Horse South Reservoir, a move that representatives of Aurora Water describe as having significant advantages for construction. Aurora Water Assistant General Manager Sarah Young stated in a media briefing on the recent planning change that the NEPA process Aurora Water has been working through with the BLM, in collaboration with Park County government, aims to both clarify the need for the project and understand all available alternatives for meeting that need.
“We evaluated twenty different options,” Young said. “As we were evaluating these alternatives, what we found out is that the Wild Horse South Reservoir has a number of significant advantages.”
In addition to the initially proposed Wild Horse Reservoir Project, some of the alternatives included the Small Wild Horse Reservoir and Denver Basin Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Alternative, expanding existing capacities in Spinney Mountain Reservoir, a no-action alternative and the Wild Horse South Reservoir Alternative. Regarding the project’s need, the proposed reservoir undertaking aims to enhance the City of Aurora’s water management of supplies from the Arkansas and Colorado River basins. As the third-largest city in Colorado, Aurora serves over 400,000 residents, yet lacks access to an immediate water source. Projections in the statewide Colorado Water Plan indicate that a significant statewide water supply gap is anticipated by 2050 and the Wild Horse Reservoir was identified in Aurora’s 2017 Integrated Water Master Plan as a crucial step in meeting the growing need. The shift in plans comes during a record low snow pack year for Colorado, the lowest since 1987, which is projected to affect state water resources down the line.
“When we’re having a year like we’re having right now, [Wild Horse] will help us bridge these types of droughts by storing water that comes from times when the snowpack is much better,” Young said.