The Draft Feasibility Report / Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) explores only four alternatives in detail: “No Action” (storage of water in a to-be-constructed Penley Reservoir and downstream gravel pits), “Least Cost” (continuing to use non-renewable non-tributary ground water for upstream users and storing water for downstream users in gravel pits), Alternative 3 (raising the storage level of Chatfiled Reservoir by 12 feet), and Alternative 4 (raising the storage level of Chatfield Reservoir by 5 feet, using gravel pits for additional storage, and continuing to use non-tributary ground water).
The DEIS does not appear to give other water storage alternatives for water supply serious, objective consideration. Aquifer storage/recharge, concerted efforts to increase water conservation, storing water in gravel pits, and storage in the existing Rueter-Hess Reservoir are briefly mentioned and dismissed. While none of these is a total solution, together they could provide the same benefits as the Chatfield Reallocation Project without tearing apart the Chatfield State Park.