Strengthening Regional Water Storage at the Trilby Site

Projects

Client

Fort Collins–Loveland Water District

Timeline

2025-2026

Location

Fort Collins–Loveland, Colorado

A construction site with a grid of steel rebar and white plastic pipes laid out for a concrete foundation, with a dirt landscape and equipment visible in the background.
A large construction site at sunset shows workers and concrete pumps around a circular foundation, with cement trucks and machinery positioned nearby under an orange sky.
A large construction site at night, brightly lit, with numerous workers and cement trucks pouring concrete into a circular foundation. Two large concrete pump booms arch over the area, surrounded by equipment and vehicles.
A large round concrete foundation with wooden framework and construction materials, partially surrounded by dirt hills under a clear blue sky; a crane and vehicles are visible in the background.
A large, circular concrete structure under construction with scaffolding surrounds it; workers in safety vests and helmets are present, and a tall yellow crane stands nearby on a snowy construction site under a blue sky.
A large round concrete structure under construction is shown on a dirt lot, with a blue and white crane parked in front. The sky is cloudy and stormy, with fields and hills in the background.
A large circular concrete structure under construction on a flat, open landscape, surrounded by scaffolding and cranes, with a cloudy sky overhead.

Keeping Pace With Rapid Growth in Northern Colorado

Regional Growth Began to Outrun Storage Capacity

Growth across Fort Collins and the surrounding communities arrived faster than expected. Residential and commercial development began to outpace available water storage, increasing pressure on aging infrastructure and elevating the risk of service disruptions. The Fort Collins–Loveland Water District needed additional capacity quickly, but in a way that would be durable, permit-ready, and respectful of nearby neighborhoods and natural areas.

Designing Capacity Under Tight Site and Permitting Constraints

RESPEC led the design of a 6-million-gallon, post-tensioned concrete tank—the district’s largest to date—boosting overall storage capacity by 60% and increasing capacity at the Trilby site by 150%. Because the project site sits near a natural area and a solid waste facility, with sloping bedrock and intense permitting requirements, the tank was designed to be fully buried to minimize visual and environmental impacts while protecting the structure from Colorado’s extreme temperature swings. Post-tensioned concrete and circular geometry were selected to efficiently resist soil and water pressures; maximize durability; and provide long-term, reliable storage for the district.

Beyond the tank itself, the project includes metering vaults, a control building, and a 3,000-foot feeder pipeline connecting the tank to the transmission main, part of which required boring beneath a major roadway to avoid traffic disruption. RESPEC and a team of four subconsultants guided the District through complex, multijurisdictional permitting; environmental coordination; and land acquisition by executing design, permitting, and stakeholder coordination in parallel to maintain momentum.

Water Security That Stays Out of Sight

Once complete, the fully buried Trilby Water Tank will increase district-wide water storage capacity by 60%, strengthening infrastructure resilience as regional demand continues to grow. The added capacity reduces the risk of service disruption, improves system flexibility during peak demand and emergencies, and supports long-term performance of a critical public asset while minimizing impacts on surrounding communities.