Why am I paying an extra water quality fee when I already bought a Keep Colorado Wild Pass? 

Since 1989, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has collected a small water quality fee for Cherry Creek Basin Water Quality Authority (CCBWQA) at the park gate. The Colorado Legislature authorized this fee to support CCBWQA's work to improve and protect water quality in the Reservoir and Cherry Creek. CPW does not collect this fee at the time of purchase of the Keep Colorado Wild pass, so it is collected at the gate. A similar fee is collected at Chatfield Reservoir.  

Why is funding needed for water quality? 

Cherry Creek Reservoir can experience excessive algae and occasional harmful algal blooms, typically during warm later summer months. To improve water quality, CCBWQA constructs projects to improve water quality and also operates an aeration system in the Reservoir. In partnership with CPW, Mile High Flood District and others, CCBWQA works to improve the quality of stormwater runoff and reduce shoreline erosion and stream erosion that can result in sediment and phosphorus loading to the Reservoir.