Event Recap: Pursuing Net Zero Water in Colorado

August 5, 2026

What does it actually take to pursue Net Zero Water development in Colorado?

That question guided the second installment of the AIA Colorado’s Committee on the Environment (COTE)’s summer webinar series focused on water and the built environment. Following the first session, Designing Within the Limits: Water Innovation & the Future of Resilient Development in Colorado, this conversation moved from the possibilities of water-conscious design to the practical realities of implementing it.

Hosted by AIA Colorado COTE members Alexis Campion, Assoc. AIA, and Francis Mougne, AIA the discussion brought together professionals working at different points within Colorado’s water system: Damian Higham of Denver Water, Magdiel Garcia, P.E., of Merrick & Company, and Mark Mitisek, P.H., of Spheros Environmental.

Together, the panel explored the water rights, permitting requirements, infrastructure decisions, regulatory frameworks, and long planning horizons that can determine whether an innovative water strategy succeeds.

Start the water conversation earlier

One of the clearest takeaways was the importance of addressing water much earlier in the development process.

Mitisek described his work in water supply planning and water rights as occurring at the very beginning of a project—sometimes before development has taken physical shape. Understanding available water supplies and their legal constraints can influence everything that follows.

Higham shared a similar perspective from the utility side. Denver Water works with developers to determine whether potable water, recycled water, or another source is most appropriate, but those conversations are most productive before infrastructure decisions have already been made.

“There are times where it’s got to be pre-master plan,” Higham said.

For architects, the message is clear: water strategy should not be treated as a technical question to resolve late in design. Early coordination becomes especially important for district-scale recycled water, localized treatment systems, precipitation harvesting, dual plumbing, and other innovative approaches.

Understanding the regulatory landscape

Higham provided an overview of two important components of Colorado’s regulatory framework: Regulation 84, which governs reclaimed water used for approved non-potable applications, and Regulation 86, which addresses graywater treatment and reuse.

These regulations illustrate an important reality: the technical ability to treat water is only one part of the equation. Design teams must understand where water comes from, how it will be treated and used, what happens after use, and which agencies have jurisdiction.

Water reuse can also occur at dramatically different scales. Denver Water operates Colorado’s largest recycled water program, delivering approximately two billion gallons annually, primarily for irrigation and cooling. At a much smaller scale, its administration campus incorporates a localized system treating wastewater generated on site for reuse in toilet flushing and irrigation.

Both demonstrate what is possible while revealing different regulatory, operational, and economic considerations.

Think beyond the property line

Garcia encouraged architects to expand their understanding of Net Zero Water beyond the building or individual site.

“It starts with expanding the way we look at water,” he said.

His work in river restoration, flood-risk management, and watershed infrastructure emphasizes the relationship between development and the larger hydrologic system. Reducing potable water demand is important, but designers should also consider runoff, water quality, flood risk, downstream ecosystems, and existing infrastructure.

“We have to ask whether the project is improving water quality, reducing flood risk downstream, and protecting downstream resources,” Garcia said.

Achieving that broader perspective requires bringing multiple disciplines into the conversation early. Water-resource engineers, civil engineers, architects, environmental specialists, permitting experts, utilities, and regulators each see different parts of the system.

Sterling Ranch demonstrates both possibility and complexity

Mitisek provided an in-depth look at the Regional Precipitation Harvesting Pilot Study at Sterling Ranch, Colorado’s first project of its kind.

Beginning in 2009, the team established a monitoring program to understand the site’s natural hydrology, including rainfall, runoff, and infiltration. That data became foundational to determining how much water could legally be captured while protecting downstream water rights.

The project has explored targeted and regional precipitation capture using stormwater infrastructure rather than focusing primarily on individual residential systems.

“This is not just about a building. This is about the site,” Mitisek said.

The work also demonstrates the importance of collaboration with regulators. The project required sustained coordination with the Colorado Division of Water Resources, Colorado Water Conservation Board, flood-control agencies, water users, and other stakeholders. After more than 15 years of monitoring, planning, technical analysis, and regulatory coordination, the project has progressed into the water court process.

One less-obvious lesson has been the importance of communication. “The hardest thing was explaining really technical aspects of the project in a simple way,” Mitisek said.

Innovative projects require more than good engineering; their success can depend on helping regulators, clients, and communities understand what is being proposed and why.

Permitting is part of design

Garcia reinforced the importance of early regulatory coordination through his work on Reynolds Landing Park along the South Platte River.

Because the corridor had originally been constructed as a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood-control project, proposed improvements required a Section 408 permission process in addition to other approvals. That process took approximately three years and involved extensive hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to demonstrate that new improvements would maintain the flood-conveyance function of the existing infrastructure.

The experience illustrated how contemporary goals for ecology, recreation, and resilience can intersect with decades-old infrastructure requirements.

For design teams, permitting should therefore be understood not simply as an approval at the end of design, but as a process that can actively shape the project.

Efficiency comes first

When asked where developers and building owners can achieve the greatest return on investment, Higham cautioned that there is no universal answer. Location, available infrastructure, water sources, building use, and project scale all matter.

Denver Water nevertheless starts from a consistent principle: efficiency first.

“We want to make sure we’re using as little water as possible on the front end before we consider reuse,” Higham said.

Efficient fixtures, thoughtful landscape design, and reduced demand create lasting benefits regardless of what happens to more complicated reuse systems. Treatment equipment can fail, owners can change, and future operators may decide not to maintain an on-site system. Basic efficiency measures continue reducing demand regardless.

Once that foundation is established, reuse and alternative water supplies can build upon it.

Scale matters as well. Household rainwater and graywater systems can be valuable, but centralized or district-scale infrastructure serving large users may offer stronger economics and operational efficiency.

Planning for a future we cannot precisely predict

The conversation inevitably turned toward Colorado’s broader water future, including drought, climate change, declining supplies, and uncertainty surrounding the Colorado River.

Rather than attempting to predict one future, Higham described Denver Water’s use of scenario planning. By testing different possibilities, the utility can identify which strategies perform well across multiple conditions.

Mitisek described the challenge as a “cone of uncertainty”: the farther into the future a team plans, the less certain assumptions about water supply and demand become.

That uncertainty does not eliminate the need for long-term planning. It makes adaptability more important.

Depending on scale and complexity, projects incorporating innovative water systems may require five, seven, ten, or more years of planning. Major infrastructure, water rights proceedings, and river projects can take even longer.

Technology is helping teams navigate some of that uncertainty. Panelists described the growing use of real-time monitoring, hydrologic modeling, optimization tools, scenario analysis, digital twins, forecasting systems, and water-accounting platforms.

Garcia noted that infrastructure has traditionally relied heavily on historical hydrology, but changing conditions make that increasingly difficult.

“Historical data at some point is no longer really applying to what we’re seeing in reality,” he said.

Better data cannot eliminate uncertainty, but it can give communities and design teams better tools for responding to it.

Collaboration may be the most important infrastructure

Across water rights, utilities, watersheds, stormwater, wastewater, architecture, permitting, and public policy, the conversation repeatedly returned to collaboration.

No single profession controls Colorado’s water future.

Architects can reduce building demand and design adaptable infrastructure. Engineers can model hydrologic systems and develop solutions at the watershed scale. Utilities can identify alternative supplies and infrastructure opportunities. Regulators can establish pathways for implementation. Policymakers can adapt laws as conditions change.

AIA Colorado Advocacy Engagement Director Nikolaus Remus, AIA, reinforced the complexity of those relationships during the discussion. Water policy frequently extends far beyond an individual building, affecting municipalities, agricultural users, utilities, ecosystems, developers, and water-right holders. As water challenges increasingly intersect with the built environment, architects will have an important perspective to contribute.

Taken together, the two installments of COTE’s water series offer a useful framework for architects and design teams: start earlier, think beyond the property line, reduce demand first, and bring the right people into the conversation.

Colorado’s water constraints are real. But understanding those constraints—and designing with them rather than around them—can create new opportunities for resilient, water-conscious development.

SPEAKERS:

Magdiel Garcia, Merrick & Company

Magdiel Garcia, P.E. is a Senior Civil Water Project Manager with Merrick & Company and a licensed professional engineer with more than 10 years of experience in water resources engineering. His expertise includes river restoration, recreational whitewater design, hydraulic engineering, flood risk management, ecosystem enhancement, and municipal water infrastructure. He leads multidisciplinary teams through the planning, design, permitting, and construction of complex river and infrastructure projects across the United States. His work focuses on developing resilient, multi-benefit solutions that integrate engineering, environmental stewardship, recreation, public safety, and community needs.

Damian Higham, Denver Water

Damian Higham (pronounced “HI-um”) has his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Montana State and has 25 years of experience in the water sector. He leads Denver Water’s recycled water program. His duties include strategic and capital planning, regulatory development, permitting, policy development, customer marketing and compliance assurance. He is a past president of WateReuse Colorado and chair of the joint reuse committee of RMSAWWA/RMWEA.

Mark Mitisek, P.H., LRE Water

Mark Mitisek is a water resources professional with more than 20 years of consulting experience specializing in water supply planning, water resources engineering, hydrologic modeling, and the development of advanced decision-support and water accounting systems. He has led a wide range of projects, from real-time flood forecasting and water rights evaluations to comprehensive water supply planning efforts for municipalities,special districts, and private clients. Mark currently manages Colorado’s first Regional Precipitation Harvesting Pilot Study at Sterling Ranch, where he oversees the natural conditions monitoring program supporting the development of a large-scale precipitation harvesting water right and works closely with state agencies to advance the regulatory and operational framework for precipitation harvesting in Colorado. In addition to his technical expertise, Mark leads multidisciplinary water information technology teams that develop innovative modeling tools, data management platforms, and digital solutions that enhance water resource planning, administration, and operational decision-making. Recognized for his collaborative leadership style, he combines engineering, data analytics, and technology to deliver practical, sustainable solutions to complex water management challenges.