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Homepage Link Projects South Suburban Reservoir closure

South Suburban Reservoir closure

April 2024 - Spring 2025

Body of water with a rocky shore visible in the distance on a cloudy day. A sign on the shore reads "No fishing, no human swimming"

South Suburban Reservoir in the Stratton Open Space in Colorado Springs is closed to the public while repairs are made to the dam’s outlet. The integrity of the dam remains intact, but the outlet must function properly to ensure we can continue to move water from the reservoir to treatment.

The reservoir holds raw water from our local watersheds and is an integral component of our local water system. An issue with the outlet was discovered in early April 2024 during a routine inspection, and the need for repairs was further confirmed by state dam officials.  A timeline for those repairs is below.

Water service for our customers will not be impacted while the reservoir is temporarily out of service, as we can access supplies from other reservoirs in our system for the interim. The reservoir will not be available to the public until repairs are completed.

Project timeline

  • April 3, 2024: Issue discovered during an internal dam inspection. Further assessment by our dam safety engineer and state dam officials confirmed the need for prompt repairs to the outlet. 
  • April 12: Reservoir access closed to the public.
  • April 12 - April 30: Controlled draining of the reservoir through our system. 
  • May 1 - May 17: The remaining 10' of water is drained through the outfall pipe in a slow and controlled manner to mitigate trail erosion and potential customer impacts. 

    • Collaborated with City Parks to expand one culvert and clean several culverts, both public and private, prior to draining.
    • All water released from the reservoir was accounted for and traded to downstream users to ensure the best use of supplies.
  • May 29: Construction design for repairs started.
  • July 23: Design 100% complete.
  • July 30: Design workshop.
  • Date TBD in July/August/Sept: Reservoir clean up. 
  • August 8: Design submitted to the State of Colorado Engineer Office for approval.

    • Review anticipated to take up to 60 days. 
  • September/October: Target construction start date (dependent on material lead times). 
  • Spring 2025: Construction complete.

The community is asked to please respect construction perimeters in place as we work to return South Suburban Reservoir to service.

Questions or concerns may be directed to (719) 668-7765 or engage@csu.org.

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