RESPEC Project

When floods wreaked havoc on Little Fountain Creek in Colorado, a natural-gas power plant owned by Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) became a critical facility risk.  Environmental risks included the CSU solar ponds that treat process water from both the natural-gas power plant and another on-site coal power plant.

Because of the enormous danger posed by storm events, CSU hired the Tezak Heavy Equipment and RESPEC design/build team to design and stabilize the Little Fountain Creek channel with enhanced  protection for conditions associated with a 200-year flood event (typical projects are designed to withstand a 100-year flood event, which is considered a big flood).  The 4-month timeline was tight for designing, permitting, and constructing the 1-mile creek restoration, but the RESPEC team prevailed.  We quickly provided client-approved designs for bank stabilization, low-flow channel preservation, overbank widening, and channel grade-control structures.  Leading the engineering design effort, RESPEC collaborated with our construction partner, local contractor Tezak Heavy Equipment, to perform the work.

Our successful project demonstrated efficiency and allowed the satisfied client to obtain additional funding for further repairs, including additional grade-control structures, bank protection, and site revegetation. Despite the timeline challenges, RESPEC delivered a superior product and established excellent relationships with both CSU and Tezak Heavy Equipment.