In addition to its primary purpose of flood control, it serves as one of many water supply reservoirs for the city of Denver, Colorado.

The reservoir inundated the abandoned roadbed of the Colorado and Southern Railway, a historic narrow gauge line active between 1874 and 1942.

[3][4][5] Precautions were put into place during the Reallocation Project to adjust the timing and amount of water releases in a good faith manner in order to avoid impacting the walleye and smallmouth bass spawning during the spring.

Best management practices were also used to minimize the spread of noxious and invasive weeds during water level fluctuations and soil disturbances due to the new construction.

[6] On May 19, 2023, a new high water mark milestone was achieved as part of the Reallocation Project - reaching 5,444 feet above sea level.

[10] There have been several irregular test results for E. coli bacteria in recent years that ended up temporarily closing the swim beach at Chatfield State Park.

The fee was created to help fund the Chatfield Watershed Plan which identifies opportunities to address chemical, physical and biological pollutants.