May 06, 2010 - A Toast and Celebration to honor Chips Barry will be May 21, 2010, 4:30 p.m., at the Wells Fargo Theater at the Convention Center in Denver. The celebration is open to the public.
Barry, 66, was the manager of Denver Water for 19 years and had planned to retire this summer. He died May 2 in an accident on his farm in Hawaii.
Doors will open at 3:30 p.m., and the Toast and Celebration program will begin at 4:30 p.m.
Barry was a Denver native who attended Denver Public Schools, graduating from George Washington High School in 1962. He graduated cum laude from Yale College in 1966 and earned a law degree from Columbia University Law School in 1969. Prior to his position at Denver Water, he was the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources for Gov. Roy Romer from 1987 to 1990. He was named manager of Denver Water in January 1991.
During his tenure at Denver Water, the utility implemented a conservation program that is nationally and internationally recognized as a model of success, built a recycled water distribution system, invested millions of dollars in improvements at its treatment facilities, monitored recovery from several devastating wildfires in Denver Water’s watershed and led the work to recover from one of the worst droughts in the city’s history. The 1997 Integrated Resource Plan, which details Denver Water’s long-term water supply plan, was adopted under Barry. He also was very active in regional cooperative efforts to open up new relations and continual dialogues among water providers throughout Colorado, and in national efforts dealing with global climate change, water infrastructure funding and regulations concerning transfer of water from one basin to another.
He is survived by his wife, Gail; two sons and their families, Duncan and Karolina Barry, and Pennan Barry and Winifred Kao with grandson, Malcolm Barry-Kao; as well as two sisters, Ellen and Rebecca. In lieu of flowers, donations are welcomed at Water For People.