After rains, water limits, city ready to ask Aurora lawmakers to scale back restrictions

AURORA | Aurora Water representatives say water conservation measures introduced by the City Council earlier this year and ample rain have put the city in the position to again allow residents to water their lawns as often as three times per week.

Aurora City Council members voted in February to limit lawn watering to twice per week starting in May, reflecting the least serious level of drought restrictions described in a schedule of restrictions used by the city.

The trigger for Aurora Water to recommend the restrictions was the finding that, between the city’s reservoirs and the snowpack at the time, the city only had enough water on hand to meet its needs for 25 to 30 months. Water storage less than 30 months’ supply has traditionally been a trigger for considering water-use restrictions.

Regardless, some members of the public and council members were critical of the decision by the council as a whole to recognize a drought in the city, arguing that it was unnecessary and that the city should wait to gauge the impacts of other changes like raising water rates before limiting outdoor irrigation.

Greg Baker said the utility has seen the outdoor use of water decrease by about 20% compared to average use since May, which along with recent rainfall has left Aurora’s reservoirs about 75% full.

While Baker said the city is still encouraging residents to conserve water by upgrading their irrigation systems with weather sensors and landscaping using drought resistant plants, Aurora Water plans to ask the council on June 29 to restore the three-day watering schedule.

“We need to remember that drought is an event, and we have things like limited watering days to meet that temporary watering shortage, but sustainability in arid Colorado and the arid West  means that you always need to be water-wise and be a good steward of your water,” he said.

The rollback of restrictions was welcomed by those who believe Aurora shouldn’t have declared a drought in February. Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky previously invited members of the public to criticize the drought rules during the public comment portion of council meetings.

On Thursday, she said she had received “non-stop complaints” about the rule change from constituents and that she was glad the city was dialing back the restrictions, which she said are “heavy-handed.”

“It’s long overdue,” she said. “We voted on all of these things that are essentially natural conservation measures, and then voted ourselves into a drought without even giving any time to see how everything we just voted on what was going to work.”

Baker said that, while the utility has received complaints about local rainstorms invalidating the need for drought restrictions, it wasn’t until the rains reached the mountainous parts of the state where Aurora actually collects its water that the weather offset the ongoing water scarcity.

Despite opposition to the rules, Baker said he believed the majority of Aurora residents want the city to err on the side of caution and that the overall reduction in water consumption was a major part of why the utility is recommending the change.

“I’m actually very happy with the way this all turned out, and we’re frankly glad that we can come out of it now too,” he said.

Assuming the restrictions are lifted, residents will be again able to water their lawns as often as three times per week, though watering will still not be allowed between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. until Sept. 30.