Antero Reservoir is an artificial water reservoir in the US state of Colorado. It was created by the first dam placed on the South Platte River

South Platte River

The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...

 in Park County, central Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. It is owned by Denver Water

Denver Water

Denver Water serves 1.3 million people in the City and County of Denver, Colorado and a portion of its surrounding suburbs. Established in 1918, the utility is a public agency funded by water rates and new tap fees, not taxes. It is Colorado's oldest and largest water utility.-Overview:A five...

 and supplies drinking water to the greater Denver metro region almost 140 miles (225.3 km) away.

History

Built in 1909, the earthen dam sat on a site believed by geologists to be a dry lake bed some 300 years old. This lake, named Green Lake, lies submerged in Antero Reservoir.

The Reservoir was closed in 2002 for five years due to drought. The lake went completely dry, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, in concert with Denver Water resurrected it in 2007. The Colorado Division of Wildlife re-stocked the lake with rainbow trout

Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....

, brook trout, cutbow, cutthroat trout

Cutthroat trout

The cutthroat trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the many fish species colloquially known as trout...

, brown trout, and splake

Splake

The splake is a hybrid of two fish species resulting from the crossing of a male brook trout and a female lake trout...

.

In 2011, engineers began lowering the water level by two feet due to excess seepage. The dam has leaked since its construction, leading it to operate under state restrictions.

Fishing

The shallowness of this reservoir makes it relatively warm for the location and altitude. This makes for exceptionally large, fast growing fish. Antero Reservoir is owned by Denver Water and overseen by Colorado Division of Wildlife. Because it is not a state park, there are no fees for fishing. Fishing is year 'round, with ice fishing in the winter.

Stats

Elevation: 8942 feet (2,725.5 m³),
Capacity: 20000 acre.ft,
Surface area: 2500 acres (10.1 km²).