AURORA, Colo. — Aurora City Council unanimously approved water restrictions for more than 400,000 residents as drought and low snowpack strain Denver metro water supplies on Monday night.
City council members are declaring a stage one water shortage, which will impose outdoor watering limits effective immediately.
Under the new restrictions, outdoor watering for residential and commercial customers is now limited to two assigned days a week, with no watering between the hours of 10 AM and 6 PM. Customers will be receiving a mailer with their assigned watering days shortly.
Aurora Water said a stage one shortage reflects abnormally dry conditions, low reservoirs and insufficient expected snowmelt to replenish supplies. The proposed restrictions are intended to cut the city’s water use by about 20%.
The utility added that storage in the three river basins it relies on — the Colorado, Arkansas and South Platte — is projected to be below 50% of capacity by early April.
Shonnie Cline, a spokesperson for Aurora Water, said the last time the utility enacted stage one restrictions was in 2023.
► Watch Adria Iraheta's report in the player below:
"We are not going to see much runoff this year, and so we are planning in anticipation of the fact that we are just not going to get water replenishment in any meaningful way this year," Cline said.
Aurora Water stage one restrictions
Single-family and residential users:
- Outdoor watering limited to two days per week
- No watering between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Addresses ending in even numbers can water on Thursdays and Sundays
- Addresses ending in odd numbers can water on Wednesdays and Saturdays
Multi-family and commercial accounts:
- Multi-family, HOA common areas, and nonresidential can water on Tuesdays and Fridays
- Irrigation-only accounts will have billing and watering variance program allocations reduced by 20%
- Aurora Parks and Open Space and Aurora Water can water on Mondays as an alternate watering day to Tuesdays and Fridays
If approved, stage one restrictions would require restaurants to serve water only upon request. Residents may continue washing cars at home and using commercial car washes; community and public pools could be filled as usual, while private pool owners would be limited to topping off their pools.
Stage one water restrictions come with surcharges for customers who use excessive amounts of water. Aurora Water said residential, multi-family and commercial users will have to pay $2.15 per 1,000 gallons above 110% of the account's average winter use (average water use from December, January and February).
Aurora Water said city water monitors will enforce the restrictions.
"As part of the restrictions we will be monitoring, we'll be looking for those kind of those peaks in use, abnormal uses, for residents and businesses customers," explained Aurora Water manager of public relations Kirby Shedlowski.
First violations for single-family customers will come with a warning. A second violation could result in a $250 fine, a third violation will be $500 and any subsequent violations will come with a $500 fine. Multi-family, commercial, and irrigation accounts will have to pay a $500 fine for a second violation, $1,000 for a third violation, and $2,000 for any subsequent violations. A fourth violation could lead to the account holder's water getting shut off completely.
During Monday night's city council meeting, Aurora Water general manager Marshall Brown acknowledged the severity of the situation.
"We’re really needing people to help us out and create the savings in the water supply," said Brown, "otherwise, we’re already bordering on needing a stage 2 water restriction."
Some city council members expressed concerns over homeowners getting fines from their HOAs over dry grass during the stage one water restrictions — an issue Denver7 has looked into. Per state laws, HOAs cannot issue fines over dry lawns during periods of water restrictions such as this one.
"Expect to see drier browner landscapes. HOAs need to live with that," said Brown.
To work, city leaders said it has to be a team effort. Aurora homeowners told Denver7 they're all in.
"I think just doing our part as best we can as a Colorado community is the best we can do," said homeowner Paul Russell. "Just a lot less watering. It's going to save a lot on the water bill, for sure, but I might even just do it by hand every once in a while based on the restrictions."
Aurora resident Burt Rabuck is an avid gardener, but told Denver7 he's ready to do what it takes, even when it comes at a cost.
"I think we're going to be watering one day a week, possibly, and I hand water," said Rabuck. "It's got to be done. Unfortunately, it's got to be done. Bad winter."
Denver7 has a full guide on the water restrictions in place right now and proposed restrictions across the Denver metro.
