FESTIVAL

resources, we capture gas, we bring our biosolids and land-apply them to (farms) for agricultural use.” e wastewater cleaning process creates methane gas as a byproduct, marketing specialist Erin Bartlett said. Whereas most wastewater facilities burn o methane, which pollutes the environment, South Platte Renew instead cleans the gas and injects it into Xcel natural gas pipelines for reuse.

At the festival, kids could build models of the river table, put pipes together to watch how water travels and do science experiments.

Tours were also available for families to see the plant and learn about the many scienti c processes that happen day-to-day.

“It’s a really big facility and just getting an understanding of the entire process is really — it’s awesome,” Allard said.

When South Platte Renew cleans wastewater, the water is returned to the South Platte River, where it can be used downstream for recreational use, agricultural use or drinking water, Allard said.

“ e water that we put back into the river … at certain times, makes up 60% of the ow of the South Platte River, so it’s really substantial,” she said.

Biosolids are also cleaned to create fertilizers for farms in eastern Colorado.

“So everything that comes in that people consider a waste, we renew for reuse,” Bartlett said.

Highlands Ranch father David Tuchalski said he brought his 5-yearold daughter, Grace, to the event so she could learn more about where water comes from and how it’s cleaned.

“Just the festival atmosphere and getting to tour a plant and see how the water reaches our homes is important,” he said.

On the way there, Grace told her father she thought it would be boring. But as she got her hands dirty at the river table station, Tuchalski said she was already having a great time. Partner organizations and departments including Englewood Public Works, South Suburban Parks and Recreation District, Red Rocks Community College, Emily Gri th Technical College, the Barr Milton Watershed Association and Denver Wastewater Management also had booths at the event.