When Denver Water looked back at the historically abysmal snowpack, and ahead to a historically scorching summer, the crucial agency for 1.5 million Coloradans set a target of 20% water use cuts to help solve challenges from the ongoing drought.
It’s not working.
At roughly the midpoint of the high season for lawn watering, which accounts for about half of Denver Water home use, customers have cut only about 2% of the five-year system average. Officials fear that after a weekend of 100-degree temps forecast for the Front Range, they’ll see even worse results as customers reel from a searing streak of daily highs and defend their lawns with amped irrigation.
“We are seeking a 20% reduction off the five-year average, and yes we are far behind on that goal,” Denver Water spokesperson Todd Hartman said, in email responses to questions. By mid-July, Denver Water wanted to see 10,300 acre-feet less water used than the long-term average of about 51,000 acre-feet. So far, customers have trimmed use by 1,300 acre-feet. An acre-foot covers a football-field size piece of ground in 12 inches of water, and can serve two to four households in a normal year.
“At this point in the summer, we have saved only about 10% of what we had hoped to save, as the hot and dry weather has taken a significant toll,” Hartman said. “It’s critical that all customers adhere to our watering restrictions or we are definitely looking at more drastic restrictions down the road.”
Read the full article on the Colorado Sun's website.
