One recent afternoon near his Colorado Springs home, Sean Paige was hiking with Nellie the golden retriever en route to a favorite spot in Stratton Open Space: South Suburban Reservoir. 

“She’s still anxious to get there, because she thinks it’s gonna be full of water,” Paige said. 

But Colorado Springs Utilities announced the draining of South Suburban Reservoir in April 2024 for repairs to the dam. Nellie has been among dogs splashing in the water over the years — the place Paige has called “dog heaven” under the gaze of Cheyenne Mountain — but not the past couple of summers during the closure. 

And not for summers to come, following an announcement by Utilities. 

“Now it’s off-limits,” Paige lamented. “Try explaining that to the dog.” 

Utilities expects South Suburban Reservoir to refill next spring. “When that happens, it will not reopen for recreational access,” read the agency’s recent announcement, which recognized the fenced-off site becoming “a favorite destination for many people” over the past two decades. 

“This decision was difficult, but necessary,” the announcement continued, explaining health and safety concerns for people and pets as well as “water quality issues.” 

Frolicking dogs “stir up sediment in the reservoir, increasing the amount of organic carbon and nutrients available to support the growth of algae,” according to Utilities, specifically mentioning harmful blue-green algae. Dogs can also introduce E. coli — another factor in Utilities reportedly removing South Suburban Reservoir from its drinking water system “multiple times over the years.” 

Utilities described the drinking water source as “small” but “important.” South Suburban’s storage up to 241 acre-feet pales in comparison with other system reservoirs such as Rosemont (closer to 2,500), South Catamount (closer to 2,600), North Catamount (12,000-plus) and Rampart (about 41,000).

But South Suburban’s small size compounds concerns, according to Utilities: “It does not hold enough water to effectively dilute these pollutants, making high-quality treatment more difficult.”

And the reservoir “is also fairly shallow, which in hot weather is another factor that contributes to algal outbreaks,” a Utilities spokesperson, Jennifer Jordan, said in an email responding to questions. “Because of this, we’ve had to intervene many times by diluting the reservoir with water from other sources to control rising E. coli levels and algal outbreaks.”

This, Jordan suggested, is why dogs are not seen in reservoirs around the Front Range. (Like some of Utilities’ reservoirs, Denver Water’s reservoirs “allow different levels of recreation, but none of them specifically have off-leash dog swimming areas,” an agency spokesperson said.)

The access at South Suburban Reservoir has been “a privilege,” said Richard Skorman. The longtime parks and open space advocate has long described the reservoir as his favorite place to go alongside canine companions. 

“It’s unfortunate,” Skorman said of the closure, “but it does make sense.” 

The former city councilmember and Utilities Board member recalled conversations to open the reservoir around 2005. He pushed for access, seeing a clear demand by trespassers back then. 

Utilities “was treating (the water) anyhow,” Skorman said of his reasoning. “But nobody was thinking about the number of people and dogs that would eventually be up there.” 

Like many he’s heard from, Skorman was surprised by the announced closure. “I thought, This is so popular, why wouldn’t they just keep it going?” he said. “But when I learned more, I understood. It just took (Utilities officials) sitting down with me to really understand it.” 

The broader public deserves the courtesy, said Paige, another former city councilmember and Utilities Board member. 

Utilities’ announcement came with word of “nearly 1,000 dog toys” being removed in recent years, underscoring another stated concern about microplastics. “Of course there’s gonna be some tennis balls and toys in there,” Paige said, suspecting many more items could be found at larger reservoirs where boaters, anglers and picnickers are allowed. “Count me as skeptical that in the grand scheme of things there’s some dire threat to our drinking water.” 

At least, he said, he’s heard no indication of that in South Suburban Reservoir’s decades open to people and dogs. This was a “tiny reservoir in the grand scheme of things,” he said, with a big impact on quality of life.

“To me, it’s like, ‘Hey, if you’re equipped to deal with this, let’s keep dealing with it,'” Paige said, granting: “Maybe there is science to support all this. I just haven’t seen it. And because we’ve had no public process, nobody else has either.” 

Including followers of Trails and Open Space Coalition, which last year notified those followers of what was thought to be a temporary closure for dam repairs at South Suburban Reservoir. 

“There was no (saying), ‘And by the way, it may never open again.’ Because believe you me, we would’ve been all over that and saying, ‘Excuse me? What?'” said Susan Davies, the coalition’s longtime executive director, now retired. 

Could there be any access? she wondered. Could people still visit the scenic shore, as they do at other reservoirs overseen by Utilities? “I’d like to see a conversation,” Davies said, adding: “Sometimes, it seems too easy to just close things.”

But rules against swimming and wading, as posted by signs, have been ignored over the years, Jordan pointed out. 

“While our hope is that the community understands and respects the reasons for protecting these important water resources, we are prepared to increase security measures, as necessary,” she said.