Another one of our Jefferson County, Colorado Grading Permit projects is almost finished with construction. This particular client came to us last year and wanted us to design a fire protection pond that would ultimately provide the required water storage volume to provide fire protection to future residential lots that they plan to develop. The goal was to construct a fire protection pond now that would add some immediate visual enhancement to the entry of the project and would also act as a water storage structure in lieu of building underground water cisterns in the future… which can be costly.
Fire protection ponds in rural settings (such as Jefferson County, Colorado) are a great way to provide fire protection water storage for a subdivision, while at the same time, saving money and adding some positive visual enhancement to a project. Many rural projects do not have the luxury of water systems and fire hydrants so local fire districts (who are typically staffed on a volunteer basis) rely on either underground cisterns or above ground ponds to fill their trucks prior to entering the subdivision during an emergency situation. With fire protection ponds, a pull-out is typically installed adjacent to the pond and a stand-pipe is located in the pull-out area for the trucks to utilize to withdraw water from the pond. Other critical considerations when design a fire protection pond include: freeze depths during winter months, sediment level, emergency overflows, dam heights, etc.
We had a great experience working with the Jefferson County Development Review staff and obtaining approval of the construction drawings in a timely and cost effective manner. The approved plans ended up looking very similar to the rough sketch that our client initially presented to us last year. This particular client was knowledgeable and interested in being very involved in the entire design process, which in the end, made for a successful project.
Photo: Typical Fire Protection Pond
