In September, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) removed two underground storage tanks from a site in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. The tanks date back to 1931, and as the photo from CDPHE shows, time had not been kind to them. The thin steel had rusted so badly that the tanks crumpled like tin cans as the excavator lifted them out. Even so, the crew was able to save the original identification tags, a small link to the site’s history nearly a century later.
The removal was part of a larger environmental assessment of the property. Taking out aging tanks is often one of the first steps in getting a former fuel site ready for new use, because old tanks can leak petroleum into the soil and groundwater around them. Once the tanks are gone, the site can be properly evaluated and a plan for its future can take shape.
The work isn’t finished yet. One more large tank remains on the site, and CDPHE plans to remove it later this month once shoring is in place to protect the neighboring building. It’s a good reminder that some of Colorado’s most important community work happens below the surface, one step at a time.