-Caveat Lector- Rocky Mountain News
To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_ 1754616,00.html Reservoirs could dip to 80% empty Denver Water hopes residents will rise to occasion, conserve By Jerd Smith And Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News February 19, 2003 Denver Water reservoir levels could fall to 20 percent of normal by April 2004 unless the region's residents step up conservation efforts this summer. Last spring, Denver's reservoirs stood at 79 percent full. They're expected to drop to 40 percent by April 1 of this year. "We drew down half our storage supplies last year," said Andrew Wallach, a Denver Water Board member. If the same scenario plays out again this summer, "we'll be at 20 percent by April of 2004," Wallach said, at a Tuesday briefing on proposed water restrictions before the Denver City Council. "There are a lot of ifs between where we are now and that 20 percent figure," he said. "But regardless, we don't want to get there." Denver Water is the state's largest municipal water provider, supplying 1.2 million metro area residents. It also has one of the largest water-storage systems in the state - a system that can store more than 600,000 acre feet of water, a nearly three-year supply under normal conditions. But in the midst of the worst drought of the past 100 years, cities are going through stored water supplies at record rates. Aurora's reservoirs, to cite one dramatic example, are already nearing that 20 percent mark. With little hope that spring snows will provide sufficient new water, Aurora announced last week that new lawns and gardens will be banned starting May 3. The city said it may have enough water to irrigate existing vegetation, but not new plants. State climate experts have been warning for the past six months that water officials have to view this drought as a multiyear event, one that could last two more years or longer. That reality is starting to hit home. Denver Water hopes it can avoid the Draconian measures imposed by Aurora both this year and next, but it all depends on how much water is saved this summer, Wallach said. The agency is eyeing two different sets of water restrictions and drought surcharges designed to reduce water use 30 percent to 50 percent this summer. The first, less restrictive plan, likely would raise surcharges from 25 cents per thousand gallons to 50 cents per thousand and allow lawn watering two days per week. The second, more restrictive, option probably would prohibit lawn watering this summer and increase surcharges dramatically, more than 500 percent in some instances. Much depends on how much snow falls in the high country during the next six weeks. Most of Colorado's water supplies come from snowmelt. By mid-April, the Denver Water Board will decide which set of conservation measures to impose. Last summer, its customers failed to hit the 30 percent target until the agency banned all outdoor watering in October. Copyright 2003, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved. Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. 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