As Colorado continues to experience serious drought conditions after one of the worst snowpack seasons on record, Denver Water leaders confirm so far, drought restrictions have been effective for conserving water.
Under Stage 1 drought restrictions, Denver Water has asked customers to reduce their total water use by at least 20%. A Denver Water official told Denver7 the utility was on track to meet that reduction goal.
“The last time we were on mandatory drought restrictions was 2013. And fortunately, we got bailed out pretty quickly with some really beneficial spring storms,” Greg Fisher, Denver Water manager of demand planning, said. “What's different today, again, the worst we've ever seen in terms of snowpack, so we really have to plan and prepare for that. But another thing, the bright spot for us, our customers are far more efficient a decade later and doing so well in terms of what we asked them to do and using water efficiently.”
▶️ WATCH: Real Talk with Micah Smith | Drought and Water Restrictions
During an interview for an episode of Real Talk with Micah Smith about Colorado's drought conditions, Fisher explained Colorado relies on mountain snowpack runoff for about 80% of its water supply.
But Fisher said the little snow we have is already melting fast after a warm winter.
Stage 1 drought restrictions in Denver include limiting watering grass to twice a week, between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m.
Environment
Your guide to water restrictions across the Denver metro and beyond
Denver Water is also asking residents to hold off on turning on their sprinklers until May and to water by hand instead.
"We know it's so dry out there that trees do need a little bit of water, but anything you need to water right now really should be by hand. And our customers are doing it. We can see it. I drive around the city, and I see still dormant lawns out there, a lot of brown lawns, and that's, that's a good sight. We don't need to wake them up yet, so they're doing great so far," Fisher said.
Fisher said even small changes inside a home can make a big difference. Fisher said running a faucet for just one minute less per day saves about two million gallons of water across their entire service area.
To watch the full interview with Fisher and other episodes of Real Talk click here.
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