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Denver metro watering restrictions
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Photo: Coyote Gulch archives
I ran across an article recently (Glenwood Springs Independent) about Rifle's first ever watering restrictions. They've had to impose restrictions on watering and irrigating, through tomorrow, due to a water shortage at one of their wastewater treatment plants. The city is a few months into building a new wastewater plant but it will not be on line until 2009.
In order to deliver water to customers utilities need to invest significant capital into infrastructure. Higher rates have proven to be a great tool for conservation but when customers use less water it cuts into utility revenues. So they raise rates again to cover the shortfall which leads to conservation...You get the idea. There has to be equilibrium somewhere. Denver Water is big on encouraging conservation as are most water utilities around town, despite the hit to their income.
The news from Rifle started me thinking about conservation and watering restrictions here on the dry side of the Great Divide. A little tour of the Web (along with a couple of phone calls) led me to the following news on watering restrictions in the Denver metro area.
The state's largest water utilitiy, Denver Water, has a great deal of information on their website. They restrict watering between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and ask everyone to keep it to 3 days a week. Since Denver Water supplies the city and many of the suburbs their restrictions are also in effect in Edgewater, Cherry Hills Village, Greenwood Village, Lakewood, Littleton, Wheat Ridge and Sheridan.
Other cities also restrict watering as in Denver. These include Arvada, Centennial Water and Sanitation (Highlands Ranch), Westminster (voluntary schedule also) and Northglenn.
Aurora, the metro city that was closest to a water crisis in 2002 and 2003, restricts watering by calendar day and type of customer. They follow the typical no watering time between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Details here. Restrictions are the same for the South Adams County Water and Sanitation District [pdf] which includes Commerce City. Parker is asking everyone to avoid watering on Fridays and observe daytime watering restrictions.
Thornton, Boulder, Englewood and Golden do not have mandatory restrictions but they list some guidelines and encourage rate payers to observe the 3 days per week limit.
Remember, real conservation happens when everyone does their part and uses water a bit more wisely over time.
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