Officials with the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities are concerned about the possible impact of the Snake Fire on city water supplies.

BOPU spokeswoman Dena Egenhoff says the fire has broken into a critical water collection and storage area. The fire is in the Sierra Madre Range in the Medicine Bow National Forest near Hog Park Reservoir, which collects water from the Little Snake River Drainage.

Water from that reservoir is traded for water in Rob Roy Reservoir, which can be more easily transported to Cheyenne.

Egenhoff says the water trade also satisfies the legal requirement under water rights agreements.

Egenhoff says the BOPU doesn't know yet what problems the fire may cause for Hog Park Reservoir, but it could cause erosion that could damage dams, clog pipelines, reduce the amount of water than can be stored and hurt water quality.

She says the BOPU working with the U.S. Forest Service and state Forestry officials to deal with the situation.

One problem is that some of the problems caused by erosion could be long-term and may not be known right away.

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