Chatfield Reservoir located in Littleton, Colorado wasn’t initially constructed as part of an immediate plan to supply fresh water along the Front Range of the Rock Mountains, but more so to avert another disaster like the South Platte River Flash flood of 1965. This torrent of water nearly a mile wide in places, ripped through the town of Littleton destroying countless homes, businesses and more than a dozen bridges on its way into Denver. Fortunately some advance warning greatly reduced the unpreventable loss of life. 
As a result of this disaster, the construction of Chatfield Dam and reservoir kicked off in 1967 and was completed in 1975. A small marina was added to the reservoir in 1982. This original marina docked just 13 boats, but expanded over time to accommodate over 300 watercraft. 

Fast forward to December 2019, a newly completed water storage expansion project at Chatfield added 12 vertical feet of water and included the construction of a brand-new Marina. The new Chatfield Marina is equipped with a floating dock capacity for 325 seasonal slips plus courtesy docks for an additional 25 watercraft. 

These new floating docks are completely framed in hot dip galvanized (HDG) steel. Galvanizing these frames makes perfect sense from a life cycle cost perspective in this highly corrosive environment. The initial investment made to galvanize this framework will be recouped in just a few short years by eliminating the maintenance that would otherwise be a frequent, periodic requirement. An additional benefit of this durable, long lasting HDG coating is its ability to withstand the scrapes and impacts from boats and related equipment that would certainly compromise most other protective coatings. Without a doubt, this was an innovative decision that’s both practical and cost effective.

With zinc accounting for over 99% of the HDG coating, it’s important to understand its related impact in this boat dock application. Commonly referred to as a healthy metal, zinc is essential to all life while playing a vital role in the biological processes of every living organism. Studies have shown that HDG steel is ideally suited for use even over the most sensitive waterways and habitats. Hot dip galvanizing these channel frames provides a sustainable solution that also protects this sensitive aquatic ecosystem by eliminating the need for or the use of other potentially, environmentally harmful protective coatings.
It is certain that other aspects of this new marina will require frequent maintenance intervals, but hot dip galvanizing these boat dock frames provides the low impact solution that will continue to perform and protect year after year.