So, that’s anything over about 5,000 gallons of use. Under Stage 1 restrictions, water users had to pay $1.95 per 1,000 gallons of water above what would normally be their regular indoor use. “Just be aware of what hot, dry weather here is going to bring,” he said in terms of water availability. But Baker warned that the summer is still expected to be hot and dry, so he cautioned residents not to get too complacent. The system is recovering more quickly than projected, making the conditions about 5% above projections, according to Aurora Water. But the rain has helped because the demands for water are lower and the weather has been cooler - meaning people aren’t turning on their irrigation systems as much, leaving more water in storage. While conditions have been wet across the Front Range for several weeks, the water manager said a week or two of rain isn’t going to make significant changes to the city’s water storage system, which relies mostly on snowpack. “We don’t really share any watersheds with Denver or northern Colorado or some of the other larger systems,” Brown said. When the City Council approved a move to declare Stage 1 Drought in late February, some council members and residents pointed out that surrounding cities like Denver were not making similar decisions, especially as snowpack levels appeared to be up statewide.īut those snowpack levels were a statewide average, Brown noted in an interview, and the watersheds that Aurora has rights to, particularly in the upper areas of the South Platte, received lower than average snowpack. And, according to a statewide drought map, neither Colorado nor the city of Aurora are in a state of drought. Any properties that had watering variance allowances for irrigation also had to reduce their use to avoid extra costs.īut with the amount of rain the area has been receiving, residents have questioned why Aurora is still under any type of restrictions. Residents’ bills should have remained similar to last summer’s as long as they stuck to the two-days-per-week rule. The goal was to reduce the city’s outdoor water use by 20%. The restrictions limited residents, multifamily units and commercial properties to watering their lawns twice a week, rather than three, starting May 1, or they would have to pay higher bills. “While we are not at our needed 75% of storage quite yet, both the weather and runoff projections are looking positive for the next couple of weeks and odds of needing to continue drought restrictions into July are minimal,” Aurora Water General Manager Marshall Brown said.Īs of June 6, Aurora’s reservoirs were filled to 68% capacity, and the City Council will consider a resolution June 28 to remove the city’s “Stage 1 Drought” restrictions on outdoor water use. Water officials cautioned though that the situation is constantly evolving, citing the way Aurora’s reservoirs are replenished outside of city limits. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menuįollowing weeks of heavy rainfall, Aurora city leaders expect to roll back drought restrictions that called for a surcharge on residents’ and business owners’ water bills if they watered their lawns more than twice per week.
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