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A festive review of 2017

On the first day of Christmas somebody sent to us: Pipes, projects and potties, but no partridge in a pear tree.

In 2017 Denver Water’s Running Toilet was the star of five videos – including a classic love story.

Reflecting on all of the notable moments and projects in 2017, we wanted to spare you the generic, “We can’t believe it’s already December …” and put a little jingle in our jangle. With so many highlights and numbers for 2017, we thought it lent itself to a popular holiday song (but we’ll spare you, dear reader, the cumulative verses).

And with that …

On the first day of Christmas our true love sent to us: One epic winter snowpack comeback. After a bone-dry fall in 2016 led to the latest accumulating snowfall on record in our watersheds, snowfall in early 2017 made a historic turnaround. We’re hoping for a repeat in 2018.

On the second day of Christmas our true love sent to us: Two river revivals. Denver Water and the Greenway Foundation teamed up to provide more water for fishing, farmers and fun on the South Platte River. Higher in the hills, the first fish survey after a rehab project on the Fraser River in Grand County showed improvements to the trout population.

On the third day of Christmas our true love sent to us: Three new storage tanks. In 2017 Denver Water continued the $100 million Hillcrest project, which is replacing two existing 15-million-gallon rectangular storage tanks with three 15-million-gallon, circular concrete tanks.

On the fourth day of Christmas our true love sent to us: Four seasons to enjoy recreational activities at Denver Water’s reservoirs, canyons and canals.

On the fifth day of Christmas our true love sent to us: FIVE TOILET VIDEOS. In 2017 our beloved running toilet fell in love, punched Steve for trying to flush pills, helped assemble a rain barrel, fixed some leaks (and punched Steve again) and trained for the Parade of Lights.

On the sixth day of Christmas our true love sent to us: $6 million water pipe. A project to replace a 1-mile-stretch of a problematic 130-year-old pipe in Denver’s Highland neighborhood began in November.


Denver Water is upgrading and modernizing the northern portion of our water system that was built in the 1930s. We are building a new water treatment plant, installing a new pipeline and redeveloping our Moffat Treatment Plant site (pictured).

On the seventh day of Christmas our true love sent to us: 77,000 acre-feet of water storage capacity. In July, the Army Corps of Engineers approved the Gross Reservoir expansion project, which, when constructed, will increase water storage on the north side of Denver Water’s collection system, helping prevent future water shortfalls and offsetting a system imbalance.

On the eighth day of Christmas our true love sent to us: 8.5-mile water pipeline, part of the $650 million North System Renewal project in Jefferson County.

On the ninth day of Christmas our true love sent to us: Nine new downstream reservoirs. The reservoirs — which are all at the site of old gravel pits — will help Denver Water meet downstream demands while keeping more water in the mountains.

On the tenth day of Christmas our true love sent to us: 10 decades serving. We’re excited to be wrapping up the year by kicking off Denver Water’s 100th anniversary (which is in 2018). Cheers to 100 years of safe, great-tasting water!

On the eleventh day of Christmas our true love sent to us: 1,100 dedicated employees. Denver Water employees work 24/7, year-round to ensure safe, great-tasting water is always flowing to your tap.


In July, the Army Corps of Engineers approved the Gross Reservoir expansion project, which will increase water storage on the north side of Denver Water’s collection system.

On the twelfth day of Christmas our true love sent to us: 12 major reservoirs. Denver Water’s collection system covers about 4,000 square miles, or 2.5 million acres, and we own property and operate facilities in 12 counties across the state. Most of the Denver area’s water supply comes from mountain snowpack that melts and runs downstream into our system of storage reservoirs.

We look forward to celebrating our 100th anniversary in 2018, and wish you and yours a happy — and hydrated — holiday season.