ERIE, Colo. — The Town of Erie is asking residents to refrain from turning on their sprinklers despite the unusually warm weather.
Erie officials said water demand is currently approaching 30% higher than usual for the time of year, and the town does not receive enough supply to meet that demand from irrigation systems.
Town of Erie Utilities Director Todd Fessenden told Denver7's Tyler Melito that if the demand continued, there was a real possibility the town could run out of water for a few days.
"It’s a very hard call to make," Fessenden said. "You don't want to make it. It impacts people. It's frustrating for everyone. But we again, have to look out primarily, first and foremost, for life, safety and health."
In winter, the Town of Erie typically uses about 2 million gallons of water per day and the system can only deliver about 3.5 million gallons per day. When sprinkler systems turn on in the summer, water demand generally jumps to 11 million gallons of water per day, the Town of Erie said on social media.
Fessenden said the town gets water from a few different sources, including the Colorado River via the Colorado Big Thompson Project.
"Our winter supplies are much smaller than our summer supplies. Normally, we won't see irrigation starting up till around mid April to late April," Fessenden said.
Erie warned residents it would monitor sprinkler use to ensure there's enough water for fire hydrants in case of emergencies, and for people to have enough drinking water at home.
The town threatened to turn off the water taps on properties if residents and HOAs or businesses don't comply with town orders. For large HOAs, the town would shut off only irrigation water. For individual households, the town would cut off water service to the entire home.
Residents may see sprinklers running in parks, according to the town, but that's because they're using non-potable water while home owners use treated drinking water.
"This is an extraordinary measure for an extremely precarious situation," the town's alert stated. "The town does not take turning off water taps lightly, we are also expecting windy conditions in the coming days which will increase fire danger."
The restrictions apply to sprinklers and turf watering, but not to hand-watering trees, shrubs or gardens.
Brett Bartscherer was tending to his lawn when Denver7's Melito met up with him. He was planning to use his sprinkler this weekend before getting the notice to conserve.
"I will comply. I am a rule-follower. But it did. It did come as a bit of a shock," Bartscherer said.
He questioned the town's thought process on the timing of the request.
"It kind of felt like we're unprepared," Bartscherer said. "Why are we all of a sudden in a shortage when we've known that there hasn't been any rain?"
The order is in place through the end of March. Starting April 4, residents at even-numbered addresses may begin irrigation. Residents at odd-numbered addresses may begin on April 6.
Erie residents can get more information here or ask town leadership questions at 303-926-2701.
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