How Denver's Water Architects Predicted The Future

The architects of Denver’s water infrastructure had a knack for predicting the future. They planned for the population of the city to grow.

“The founders of Denver Water may not have thought there would be 1.4 million people living in the city by 2018, but they did know that Denver would grow into a population center of the west … and planned accordingly,” KUSA reported. 
 
As water stakeholders raise awareness about the infrastructure challenges facing towns and cities across the country, it is important to remind ratepayers what a marvel their water infrastructure is — despite that is often taken for granted. 

According to the American Water Works Association’s state of the industry report for 2018, public understanding of the value of water is among the top five issues facing the water industry. 

KUSA recently brought attention to the considerable brilliance undergirding the water system in Denver in an article highlighting the 100th anniversary of the utility. 

“It took some incredible feats of engineering to lead Denver Water through its first 100 years, and more innovation will be needed to sustain the booming population in the Mile High City into the future,” the report said. 

Denver Water Spokesperson Jessica Mahaffey said a starting point in this story is the creation of Cheesman Reservoir, completed in 1905. It is 80 miles southwest of downtown Denver, the report said. 

“The 221-foot dam, constructed with gray granite from a nearby quarry, was at the time the largest dam in the world. It’s proof they were thinking of water needs long into the future. Thirteen years later, in 1918, the citizens of Denver voted to purchase the private company running their water, and the utility Denver Water was born,” KUSA reported. 

Mahaffey described it like this: “It’s beautiful, it’s wild, it’s scenic, it’s isolated. It really is the beginning of Denver Water’s story, and actually the beginning of Denver itself.”

Communicating the value of water is a challenging task for utilities. As George Hawkins, the former CEO of DC Water put it, ratepayers don’t realize “what a miracle of modern civilization it is when they drink tap water,” per an interview with Bloomberg BNA. 

“We have done well for decades in most cities, so most people in the United States who walk up to a water fountain or a spigot expect it,” he said.