KUSA – It’s like a hardware store on steroids. The shelves stretch from floor to ceiling inside the sprawling warehouse.
One aisle is stocked with various shovels, crowbars and oversized wrenches. Others are filled with giant metal valves. Just outside, massive pipes are stacked beside each other.
“We’re in Denver Water’s state of the art warehouse,” said Travis Thompson, the spokesman for Denver Water.
Thompson opened the doors to the warehouse to show off all the materials and tools crews need when they encounter a water main break.
Just last week, crews were called to a 12-inch main break near Sheridan Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue. The break closed northbound lanes of Sheridan as repair crews got to work. The tools and materials crews used to repair the break came from Denver Water’s warehouse.
“For main breaks, there’s a ton of unsung heroes behind the scenes that no one even thinks about,” Thompson said.
Those unsung heroes include the Denver Water warehouse guys who plan months ahead to stock the right equipment and are ready for the unexpected.
“We have a team of experts that are on-call 24/7/365,” Thompson said. “When a main break happens, it’s not just our repair crews who get called out. iIt’s also these folks to make sure that repair crews have everything that they need.”
That includes tools and gear crews can grab at a moment’s notice.
“Extra hardhats that they can check out,” Thompson said, walking down a large aisle. “Shoes get slippery, so we’ve got things to help them with traction while they’re out there in the field.”
There’s even a plan in place for the rare occasion crews need something that is out of stock.
“There’s a CoWARN system throughout the state that utilities use where you can ask other utilities if you needed some additional pipe or equipment or something to help with the need,” Thompson explained.
Water main breaks tend to happen in the summer. When they do, Denver Water relies on the warehouse.
