AURORA, Colo. — If you're one of the over 400,000 residents who call Aurora home, water restrictions could become a reality.
Aurora Water is recommending Stage I restrictions to city leaders, and if approved, they could take effect April 7.
"Stage I restrictions here means that people are going to be asked to only water two days a week, and you'll have scheduled days to do that watering," Shonnie Cline with Aurora Water said. "Even in their homes, we're looking for a 20% reduction in overall water use."
Head to the bottom of this story for a full rundown on what each stage of water restriction entails.
Cline explained the Aurora Reservoir is one of the city's water sources. While it's 95% full right now, she said levels are expected to drop. But more importantly, Aurora's water supply at their reservoir in Park County is dwindling.
At the state level, Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday activated Colorado's Drought Task Force, as statewide snow water equivalent currently ranks among the lowest in more than four decades, according to the governor's office.
"This is a wake up call for everybody in Colorado to really start thinking about how we value water," Cline said.
On the first official day of spring, it felt more like summer at the Aurora Reservoir. That's where Denver7 met the Kristensen family cooling off.
"This is the closest we have to a beach," laughed Kari Kristensen, enjoying the warm weather alongside her mother and daughters.
Out at the reservoir, reaction to the proposed restrictions is mixed.
"We put so much money into this new yard that I don't want our perennials to die," said Kristin Kristensen.
Still, many are coming to terms with cutting back and the reality that restrictions could soon take effect.
"I mean, if we have to, I guess we have to," said Dylan Lux, who was out boating Friday.
Cline hopes the community understands the impact Colorado's warm, dry conditions will continue to have for the months to come.
"We just really need to have people understand that this is not something that's going to end overnight," Cline said. "In fact, this could have cascading impacts even into next year."
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