Page 42 - CCD-Mag-Summer-Fall-2020

Photo: Denver Water Admin exterior - Mike Branigan, Publisher- CCD Magazine
cooling, triple-pane glazing, an eco- machine, rainwater cisterns, and an ultra-high efficiency central utility plant with many stages of heating and cooling.
• First One Water commercial project in Colorado utilizing gray water, rainwater capture, and eco-machine to capture and treat waste-water.
• Zero net energy project including high levels of energy efficiency utilizing heat recovery with one
of Denver Water’s own water conduits, radiant slab heating and cooling, triple-pane glazing, and an exceptionally energy efficient central utility plant with 9 stages of heating and 8 stages of cooling
• Monitoring-based commissioning to review and analyze trend data and make sure the building and the central utility plant is on track to achieve zero net energy
All of this is very impressive considering the first residents of the
42 | Colorado Construction & Design
Denver area drank water directly from the creek and river. Surface wells and buckets of water sufficed for a while as a delivery system, but they soon proved inadequate. Irrigation ditches were the next step forward.
In 1870, when the rapidly growing community had a population of almost 5,000, the Denver City Water Company was formed. In 1872, with a large well, a steam pump and
four miles of mains, Denver City Water Company began to provide water to homes. Over the next
two decades, 10 water companies fought, collapsed or merged. Several companies merged, and in 1894, the Denver Union Water Company— predecessor of Denver Water— emerged to establish a stable system.
In 1918, Denver residents voted to form a five-member Board of Water Commissioners and buy the Denver Union Water Company's water system for $14 million, creating Denver Water. From that time on, Denver Water
planned and developed a system
to meet the needs of the people of Denver and the surrounding areas with primary water sources that include the South Platte River, Blue River, Williams Fork and Fraser River watersheds, but it also uses water from the South Boulder Creek, Ralston Creek and Bear Creek watersheds.
Harkening-back-to-the-past, the historic, 100-year-old Three Stones Building that sits next to the new administration building is being restored and renovated. It once served as the operations and pump facility and will soon become a meeting and gathering space.
Whether the year is 1870 or 2020, water is obviously a most precious resource. Finding ways to sustain
it is something Denver Water’s new administration building will provide a facility for, while also serving as a model of sustainability.
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