DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — On Tuesday, officials in three Douglas County communities asked residents to start conserving water amid a record-dry winter.
In a joint press release, water officials in Highlands Ranch, Parker, and Castle Rock stated that outdoor watering accounts for “the largest increase in water use during spring and summer months.” Adding, “conservation remains an important and economical step Douglas County residents can take to help protect water resources.”
The message follows several metro Denver communities that have already implemented water restrictions. On Wednesday, Denver City Council members will vote on whether to implement Stage 1 drought restrictions, as the City of Thornton approved earlier in March.
Aurora also said drought restrictions are a near-certainty for its residents.
Denver7 heard from several Douglas County viewers concerned about the area's growth and its impact on water supply.
“We're not concerned for our lawn or anything like that, but we're concerned more about the growth of our area,” said Kristin Ionga, a Parker resident. “There's so much building going on. Is there going to be enough water for all these people? I don't know.”
To gain more perspective, Denver7 took those concerns to officials in Highlands Ranch and Parker.
According to Kari Larese with Highlands Ranch Water, the community is a “22,000-acre master planned community,” meaning it caps its growth at a certain acreage and population and creates its plans, including water, around that number, so shortages or outgrowing resources are not a direct concern.
Denver7 also reached out to Deirdre Mueller with the Parker Water & Sanitation District. She said there is a possibility there won’t be enough water to support its growing community, but the likelihood of that happening is near-zero.
She said in Parker, new developers need to present their water permits before their plans can be approved, so developers are paying for the extra water rights rather than taxpayers.
For people like Ionga, that is the exact concern after she told Denver7 her family’s water bill at their second home in Utah spiked because developers sued the county over a water legal battle.
“So, in the Ogden Valley, it's just recently become a town. The residents voted to become a town,” said Ionga. “Previously, it was managed by Weber County, which sold rights to a bunch of developers. So, it turns out that we don't have enough water for all these new homes, so the developers are now suing the water company, and then, as a result, the residents have to pay from our bill to pay for the lawyers.”
Conservation requests like Tuesday’s can reduce water demand by 10-15%, simply through increased mindfulness, Mueller said.
The unincorporated community is not currently under drought restrictions. It implemented a Drought Watch, which increases communications about the importance of water conservation.
“In an average year, we use about 15,000 acre feet [of water],” said Sam Calkins, water manager for Highlands Ranch Water, in an interview with Denver7 on Tuesday. “So, if across Highlands Ranch, people conserve just 10%, that's 1500 acre foot [we are reducing demand by]. Water, conservatively, costs about $40,000 per acre-foot. So, if we save 1,000 acre-feet, that's $40 million we don't have to spend or invest in our community's future. And really, it does save our community lots of money over time.”
Denver7 also spoke with Ron Redd, the district manager for the Parker Water & Sanitation District, who said water demand increases 5x in the spring and summer months due to irrigation.
Stage 1 Drought restrictions largely target outdoor irrigation alone because of its massive demand on the system.
Mueller said even under the most dire of circumstances in which drought persists for several consecutive years, those irrigation restrictions alone can keep the system afloat so community members can live uninterrupted, albeit with some brown lawns.
“[Resident homes] are 90% of our accounts,” said Redd. “And, so, if we get a large participation to reduce water slightly, that's actually a very big, big decrease.”
