Aurora Reservoir is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

located in the far southeastern reach of

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, ...

. Senac Creek and other minor streams flow into the reservoir's three coves, Senac, Marina and Lone Tree, each pointing to the south. The reservoir provides drinking water to the City of Aurora, and is also a recreation area.

History

Aurora Reservoir was built in 1989 at a cost of 41 million dollars and was filled in 1990. The reservoir is used for recreation and to provide water for Aurora, CO and surrounding communities. Miles of undeveloped prairie originally separated the reservoir from the city's neighborhoods, and its location has been referred to as "Aurora's

Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

". However, over 3,500 new homes in the two new

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

communities, Beacon Point and Southshore are currently under construction immediately southwest of the reservoir, in addition to much other development in the area including the Southlands Lifestyle Center (approx west of the reservoir),

Cherokee Trail High School Cherokee Trail High School is a public secondary-educational institution located in the eastern portion of the city of Aurora, Colorado, United States. It is the sixth high school in the Cherry Creek School District. Cherokee Trail is an Inter ...

and Fox Ridge Middle School (1/2 mile southwest) and thousands of other homes in the vicinity.

Recreation

The rapid Southeastern expansion of the

Denver–Aurora Metropolitan Area Denver, Colorado, Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jeffers ...

has greatly increased attendance and awareness of the reservoir. Many recreational opportunities exist at Aurora Reservoir. There is a small swim beach open seasonally, boat dock, rental equipment shack, jogging/biking trail, designated SCUBA diving beach/area in water, and many opportunities for fishermen. In order to protect the purity of the water, only electric boats are allowed, thus limiting full recreational use of the reservoir. Surprisingly, the reservoir is also a relatively popular diving site, largely due to the separate SCUBA beach and designated area in the far Northeastern corner of the lake and also because of a

Cessna 310 The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II. Development The 310 first fle ...

, deliberately sunk in 1994 as a diving attraction,Hurley, Mike. "Aurora Reservoir, CO." ''Sport Diver'' Oct. 1994: 92–94 visible at only below the surface. Not surprisingly, it is a popular location for local SCUBA centers to take dive students for their open-water certification. More recently, the reservoir has also become a reputable fishing spot mainly for

Trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

Walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

and

Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

, and has truly been in the limelight lately regarding the record for largest catfish caught in Colorado being set at the reservoir in October 2010. The reservoir also hosts a number of community events throughout the year including

triathlons A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the d ...

, sailing camps, and other local functions.

External links

*
Aurora Reservoir: Discover Aurora Reservoir

References

{{authority control Reservoirs in Colorado Geography of Aurora, Colorado Protected areas of Arapahoe County, Colorado Bodies of water of Arapahoe County, Colorado