
The concrete placement for the roof started at 5 a.m. in order to beat the heat of the day. Over an eight-hour span, roughly 25 concrete trucks per hour continuously delivered concrete to four concrete pumping trucks until the roof slab was complete.
According to DenverUrbanism, there are about 5,900 single-family homes in Denver that were built in the 1890s still standing today. And now, there is only one underground water storage tank left in the Denver metro area built that same decade that continues to store treated water today — but not for long.
That’s because Denver Water is in the middle of a $40 million capital project to improve the safety and reliability of Ashland Reservoir. One of the two reservoirs at the Ashland site has already been demolished and the new tank is nearly complete. Once that tank is in service, the second reservoir will be demolished and another built in its place.
This project is a vital part of Denver Water’s work to upgrade its aging infrastructure. In fact, over a decade-long span, Denver Water — through customer water rates — plans to spend about $120 million on treated water storage tank projects.
There are 30 underground reservoirs, just like the two at Ashland, in various city locations that store treated water after it leaves one of Denver Water’s three treatment plants. These reservoirs ensure customers have a reliable water source, especially during times of the day when water use is at its highest, like mornings when people wake up and water use spikes as they all use the toilet, shower and sink at the same time. The tanks also provide a dependable source for the fire department so there never is a concern about having enough water to fight a fire in the community.
On Aug. 18, 2014, the Ashland project reached a significant milestone as the roof was placed on the new storage tank. This required hundreds of concrete truckloads and more than 60 laborers working continuously until the 1,500-cubic-yard roof slab was finished.
And, the local media was there to capture the massive undertaking.
Throughout its morning show, 9News highlighted the concrete placement and importance of the reservoir to the community. Here is one of the live shots:
7News used the helicopter to provide a visual of the work from the sky:
At the end of the day, CBS4 provided an update from overhead with another helicopter video showing the final product: