Preserving the quality of water delivered to homes and businesses in Columbine is a huge effort that involves a large number of entities carrying out numerous, diverse responsibilities. Columbine is part of a highly integrated water system consisting of Denver Water and 78 special district, municipal, and private water distributors.
Protection of water quality begins at the source. The federal and state governments establish and enforce regulations and standards to protect source waters that are ultimately delivered to District customers. Numerous industrial and municipal water users are required to meet these standards as they treat water which is discharged into rivers and lakes that ultimately become source waters for other users. The federal Clean Water Act and federal and state pollution discharge elimination system permitting programs are examples of source water protection laws and regulations.
The federal and state governments also set standards for converting the source water into the product that is delivered to your home or business. Water providers such as the Denver Water Department are required to meet stringent federal and state standards established under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and Colorado Primary Drinking Water Standards. Once the treated water is delivered to Columbine, it becomes the District’s responsibility to preserve its high quality all the way to the end user.
Delivery of high quality, potable water to you, our customer, is the combined responsibility of the Denver Water Department and Columbine Water and Sanitation District. Denver Water’s delivery system (which includes Columbine) consists of 29 treated water reservoirs, 2,449 miles of water pipe, 38,781 valves, and 13,991 fire hydrants. Each component of these diverse delivery systems can dramatically affect the quality of the water you receive. Therefore, Denver Water and Columbine maintain constant vigilance over monitoring and maintaining the system components.
Denver Water collects and analyzes over 300 water samples from over 130 sites each month. These samples are tested for metals, radioactive isotopes, disinfection by-products, organic chemicals, and microbiological organisms. The results of these tests are reported to the Colorado Department of Health and to each customer in the annual Water Quality Report (consumer confidence report) which is delivered to each Columbine customer under the mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency.
In addition to the tests coordinated by Denver Water, Denver Water staff sample water from every dead end water main at least once per year. These tests include checking for proper disinfectant residual to protect against bacterial growth in the water distribution system. In addition to sampling water quality, Denver Water staff flush all dead end water mains to maintain fresh supplies for all customers.
So, while Columbine is a somewhat small, but important, cog in the water quality protection machine, it is a responsibility and challenge that the District’s Board of Directors gladly accept and proudly deliver.
If you should have any questions about the Water Quality Report, or have concerns about your water quality, please call Denver Water’s Customer Care Department at 303-893-2444.