For developments within the City and County of Denver, Total Service Contract Areas and Distributor Contract Areas:

1. After meeting with the local fire department regarding emergency access, hydrant locations and site fire flow estimates, the Engineer shall request a pre-design meeting via email, WaterSalesPlanReview@denverwater.org, or through the Plan Review Portal. 
2. The Engineer shall provide documentation to aid in the review of the proposed project in development. These items are not required but may aid in a more thorough pre-design review:
   1. Type of building (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, manufacturing, mixed use, etc.).
   2. Number of living units for multifamily.
   3. Type of water connection needed (e.g., fire line, domestic, hydrant or new/replacement main).
   4. External utility interference.
   5. Hazardous conditions (if known).
   6. Total acreage of irrigation.
   7. Any water features such as pools, ponds, fountains.
   8. The overall site flow requirement determined by fire department.
3. The Water Sales Plan Review Coordinator (PRC) will hold a conceptual plan meeting with Denver Waters subject matter experts. The PRC will assist in the review of a conceptual plan set.
4. The Consulting Engineer shall provide a Master Plan layout for large redevelopment areas and submit the concept design to the PRC.
5. If the conceptual design is acceptable to Denver Water, the PRC will provide the Consulting Engineer with information to proceed to the Pre-Submittal Review.
   1. Points of connections.
   2. Sizes, location and material of mains to be installed.
   3. Special features such as control valves, PRVs, blow-offs, etc.
   4. Participation requirements.
   5. Requirements for easements and/or dedicated public right-of-way.

In distributor service areas, developer must notify distributor of pre-design meeting.

Need help with the Plan Review Portal?

Please use our Plan Review Portal job aid.

Prior to pre-submittal review, Denver Water requires that the designer/engineer meet with the appropriate fire protection agency for project requirements on fire hydrants and overall site flow requirements.

For developments in the City and County of Denver or Total Service Contract Areas:

1. The Consulting Engineer/Designer shall create a plan set in accordance with Denver Water’s Engineering Standards, Chapter 2 and the current CAD Standards External Requirements.
2. The Consulting Engineer shall upload the following items through the Plan Review Portal:
   1. Full design layout in AutoCAD prepared in accordance with the current Denver Water CAD Standards External Requirements.
   2. Multi-sheet PDF in compliance with Denver Water’s CAD Standards. Please ensure all layer information is intact in the PDF plan set.
   3. Property legal description required on the cover sheet.
3. Consulting Engineers will receive system generated status updates when a Plan Review Coordinator (PRC) is assigned, when review of the project begins, and when documents are returned.
4. The PRC will provide a cost estimate for the Plan Review Fees due at the time of the first formal plan submittal based on the proposed project scope.

For developments in Master Meter or Read and Bill Distributor Contract Areas:

The water district will review the plans and provide engineer with Denver Water’s form: Distributor Conditional Water Plan Approval. Steps 1 through 4 shall apply. Denver Water will return comments to both the project engineer and the district.

Need help with the Plan Review Portal?

Please use our Plan Review Portal job aid.

After the pre-submittal comments are addressed, the Consulting Engineer shall submit the required information for formal plan review, via the Plan Review Portal only, to their assigned PRC Representative.

1. The Consulting Engineer shall upload the following items into their Plan Review Portal account:
   1. Formal comment response letter addressing pre-submittal comments.
   2. Full design layout in AutoCAD prepared in accordance with current Denver Water CAD Standards External Requirements.
   3. Multi-sheet PDF in compliance with Denver Water’s CAD Standards. Please ensure all layer information is intact in the PDF plan set.
   4. Multi-sheet PDF plan set with Fire Authority stamp/signature showing overall site flow requirements and the PE stamp/signature.
   5. A completed Fire Line/Domestic/Irrigation Connection Demand form for each fire sprinkler line. (If there is a domestic and/or irrigation tap associated with the fire line, include that information on the same form in the space provided.)
   6. A completed Fixture Count Worksheet for each domestic tap.Taps for single-family residential and residential duplexes are not included in this requirement.
   7. A complete easement package, if applicable, shall be prepared in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Engineering Standards (not recorded). 

Need help with the Plan Review Portal?

Please use our Plan Review Portal job aid.

Plans shall be resubmitted via the Plan Review Portal with a formal response letter addressing the Denver Water plan review comments received during Formal Plan Submittal. For each resubmittal, a response letter is required that addresses all redline comments; a new AutoCAD drawing with all changes is also required. Plans that require more than two formal submittals to obtain plan approval will be subject to additional review fees equal to the amount of the original review cost.

After the comments have been satisfactorily addressed and the design is accepted by Denver Water, the PRC will provide the Consulting Engineer a list of the outstanding items required for final plan approval such as but not limited to:

1. Final comment response.
2. Final multi-sheet PDF with layers intact.
3. A signed owner/developer compliance agreement.
4. Inspection fees.
5. All recorded easement documents.

Need help with the Plan Review Portal?

Please use our Plan Review Portal job aid.

Once the required items have been submitted and associated fees have been paid, the plans will be approved by Denver Water and construction activities shall proceed in accordance with Chapter 2 of Denver Water’s Operating Rules.

• Inside Denver and Total Service contract areas: the owner/developer must select a water line contractor from one of Denver Water’s prequalified contractor lists:
  • 12-inch and smaller pipe.
  • 16-through 20-inch pipe.
  • Wet taps on 4" and larger.
• The water line Contractor or water District (if Read & Bill or Master Meter contract service area) shall call and schedule a pre-construction meeting with Denver Water a minimum of 48 hours prior to start of construction.
• Water line contractor must have an approved Denver Water stamped set of plans at time of pre-construction meeting on the job site at all times.