Denver Water Speakers Bureau

Would your group like to learn more about your water system — its colorful history, where the water comes from and how we treat it, the latest in conservation efforts and what we are doing to ensure future supplies?

Tell us what water topic your organization is interested in, and we’ll send an expert to your group’s meeting — free of charge. Popular topics include:

From the Top of the Rockies to Your Tap
Get an overview of Denver’s watershed and what it takes to deliver quality water to your tap.

Planning Today for Tomorrow 
Even when water supplies seem plentiful, Denver Water is continually developing new resources to serve future generations. Learn why recycled water, increased conservation and expanding storage capacity are essential to serving our future needs.

Coping with Climate Change
Denver Water has joined forces with seven other major U.S. water utilities to lead the way in the study of climate change and potential effects on water supplies. We’ll share some of the research and possible regional ramifications and explain steps Denver Water is taking to identify and plan for climate changes that could crimp our supplies.

Tours, Too! Recycled Water Treatment Plant Tour: Learn about this expanding resource on a tour of Denver Water’s newest treatment plant. Recycled water — water treated to a standard just below drinking water — has helped meet the city’s needs for watering parks, golf courses and school grounds, replenishing lakes and serving industrial users. Also, by reusing treated wastewater, Denver Water keeps enough pristine water in its reservoirs to serve 40,000 households. Other Treatment Plant Tours: Although water from our mountain reservoirs comes from rain and snowmelt, it must be tested and treated so we can deliver safe, potable water to our customers. Arrange a visit to a drinking water treatment plant and learn how this five-step treatment process works. Treatment facilities are available for tours on a limited basis. First, review tour considerations and requirements (such as hours, minimum age, chaperones, etc.). Then schedule your group tour by calling 303-628-6058 or e-mailing tours@denverwater.org. Xeriscape Gardens: Take a self-guided tour of Colorado’s most mature Xeriscape Demonstration Garden. Get ideas for types of grasses, shrubs, trees, ground covers and perennials that will help you use only what you need in your landscape. The gardens surround Denver Water’s Administration Building and are open during business hours (Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.– 5 p.m.). See map to Denver Water.

Use Only What You Need
A Denver Water conservation expert will provide practical tips to help you use water wisely and eliminate waste.

• Indoor – Learn where the biggest water wasters are in your house or business, how to find and fix leaks and what rebates are available to help pay for replacing inefficient plumbing fixtures, appliances and commercial equipment.
• Outdoor – Learn how to optimize your landscape water use with efficient irrigation, soil amendments and Xeriscape techniques.

Tap+Smart: Changing the Culture of Water Use
Tap+Smart is a philosophy — being smart when you turn on the tap — and we want to help you make it part of your lifestyle. During the drought of 2002-2004, Denver Water customers achieved remarkable savings, and Tap+Smart aims to make those savings permanent through conservation and increased efficiencies. Learn about new pilot programs and conservation incentives Denver Water has to help residential and commercial customers eliminate waste and improve water use efficiency.

Denver’s Water: Past, Present and Future
Water, or lack of it, has been a major concern since the city’s beginnings. Get a brief history of Denver’s water system, which has been operating for more than 130 years, and learn what is being planned to meet changes and challenges in the future.

The History and Future of the High Line Canal
This popular urban parkway faces changes because so much of the canal’s water is lost to seepage. Learn more about efforts to preserve this recreational corridor.

Cheesman Dam & Reservoir: A Century of Service
This 103-year-old workhorse of Denver Water’s system is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and a survivor of the 2002 Hayman fire. Learn the extraordinary history of its construction, the devastating impact of the fire and the rehabilitation work being done to ensure another century of service.

Whose Water Is It?
Get a primer on water rights and water law. There are interstate compacts that regulate how much water must flow from Colorado to downstream states, and you’ll learn how they affect Denver Water’s customers.

 

Call 303-628-6170 to schedule a speaker (two-week advance notice requested) or e-mail speaker@denverwater.org.