Denver Water chief administrative services officer retiring

In baseball terminology, a utility player is someone the manager can confidently put at nearly any position on the field, knowing that person will perform well and help the team win.

Utility players are valuable because of their versatility and adaptability.

And at Colorado’s oldest and largest water utility, Brian Good has been the ultimate utility player.

Good is retiring Sept. 1 after 26 years at Denver Water, leaving his mark across multiple divisions and departments at the water provider for 1.5 million people. He was a standout performer no matter what position he was asked to assume.

“Anything I put in front of him he took on with passion and enthusiasm,” said Jim Lochhead, who served as Denver Water’s CEO/Manager from 2010-2023. “He has to be the single most knowledgeable person at Denver Water about all things Denver Water and all the various facets of the organization. He’s ‘been there, done that’ on just about everything.”

Good came to Denver Water in 2000. His early time was spent working at and managing Denver Water’s drinking water treatment plants, as well as bringing the utility’s Recycling Plant online. He proudly keeps his treatment plant operator license active to this day.

“Personally, the breadth of knowledge and expertise Brian brought to Denver Water was invaluable to me as I transitioned into this complex world,” said Alan Salazar, Denver Water’s current CEO/Manager. “His accomplishments will leave a lasting and impactful mark on our community and our industry.”

After his time in the utility’s water treatment group, Good moved on to run its Operations and Maintenance division, then helped get Denver Water’s culture of continuous improvement, also known as Lean, off the ground. He led Denver Water’s strategic planning efforts for a time and was serving as the utility’s Chief Administrative Services Officer at the time of his retirement.

Good has always been a man on the move.

“It was hard to keep up with him and his energy level,” recalls Russ Plakke, now Denver Water’s director of water quality. Plakke worked for Good when the utility’s Recycling Plant came online in the early 2000s.

“I remember during plant startup coming in and seeing Brian come out of his office. He had been there all day and all night, and he was coming out in his pajamas to take a shower before going back to work,” Plakke said.

Good also helped lead Denver Water’s Operations Complex Redevelopment, referred to as the OCR project.

Building on his expertise in project management, Good problem-solved the multiple logistical elements of the OCR construction, including developing an employee shuttle system, coordinating communications on ongoing construction, and helping create memorable videos to keep employees informed on construction progress. The project has won more than a dozen awards for excellence in multiple areas.

“He is very detail-oriented, and he dove headfirst into all the intricacies of the project,” Lochhead said. “With a project of that size and scope, there was a lot of problem-solving to be done as well. It was just a massive accomplishment.”

Good also made valuable contributions outside of Denver Water.

He served on industry associations and boards, including as president of the WateReuse Association. He’s been a lecturer for the University of Colorado’s Water Utility Management curriculum and co-authored a companion textbook titled, “The Effective Water Professional.” He even found time to play and sing in local bands.

But whatever he did and wherever he did it, Good always had one thing at the forefront.

“He always thought about what was best for Denver Water,” said Charmaine Shaw, a business operations senior support specialist who has worked with Good for 20 years. “No matter what role he had, he always did the hard work, the physical work, to make Denver Water better. And he pushed people to be better, too. I’m better for having worked with him.

“And at the end of the day, he always stayed humble,” Shaw said. “For all of us that worked with him, he was just Brian. That’s how we will remember him. No matter what job he had, he’s just Brian.”