As the Denver-metro area continues to grow, planning for its water future supply is an important challenge for Denver Water. No single water resource is sufficient to meet this challenge. In 1997, Denver’s Board of Water Commissioners approved an Integrated Resource Plan, a long-term plan that recognized the need to invest in and manage a diverse portfolio of resources to meet Denver Water's future needs and to minimize risks to its system. The Board is committed to a three-pronged approach to ensure we have adequate supply for the future: conserve, recycle and develop.
Conservation
After the 2002 drought, the Board saw a need to accelerate its conservation goals. It approved an update to the 1997 Integrated Resource Plan, which challenged Denver Water to reduce its water use 22 percent from pre-drought usage by the year 2016. By conserving water, reservoirs will stay fuller, which will help us through future droughts, and more water will remain in streams and rivers, which will support agriculture, the environment and recreation.
Recycled Water
Denver Water opened its Recycle Plant in 2004. The plant takes treated wastewater from the Robert W. Hite Treatment Plant, treats the water to standards set by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment under Regulation 84, and delivers the recycled water to industrial and irrigation users. The recycled water distribution system continues to expand to serve more users. Once build-out is complete, the project will supply more than five billion gallons of recycled water every year, allowing Denver Water to use the water in its reservoirs to provide drinking water to Denver-area residents.
Water Supply Development
Denver Water is pursuing numerous options for increasing its water supply, including turning old gravel pits into reservoirs, making small-scale refinements to increase the system’s productivity and developing new water supply in the Moffat Collection System.