AURORA | Aurora is replacing the Great Lawn at the Aurora Municipal Center with drought-tolerant Bermudagrass as part of a citywide effort to reduce water use and improve the sustainability of its parks, city officials said Wednesday.
The city’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department, working with contractor Elite Industries, started the conversion this week by removing the existing Kentucky bluegrass, which requires significantly more water to maintain, officials said in a statement.
The change comes amid a record-breaking drought and citywide water restrictions imposed on both residential and commercial water users.
Aurora Water officials have set a 20% year-over-year reduction in overall water use as a goal.
So far, Aurora Water says the city is doing a good job reducing its water use, with total demand for the year, including indoor use, down 8%, while outdoor irrigation is down 20%. Stage 1 drought restrictions call for a 20% reduction on outdoor irrigation.
City officials said the warm-season Bermudagrass is better suited to Colorado’s climate and is one of the few turf varieties approved by Aurora Water for installation during the current Stage 1 drought restrictions.
Drought and water use have been in the news since spring, when low-reservoir levels made headlines.
City officials in Aurora are considering penalties for Niagara Bottling, the city’s largest water consumer, for failing to reduce usage during a severe drought. While the plant has not yet exceeded its 178-million-gallon annual allocation, officials expressed concern that current production levels will lead to an overage. In response, the company announced plans to implement efficiency initiatives intended to significantly cut consumption by 2027.
Earlier this month, Mayor Mike Coffman created a stir when he highlighted grass he considered too green at a local high school and insisted on ensuring the school followed water restrictions.
All this has prompted city water officials to ask residential and commercial property owners to consider so-called “xeriscape” or lower water usage landscaping or replace water-thirsty grasses with varieties that need less water and are more tolerant to drought.
The “Great Lawn” project is part of the department’s “Back to Our Roots” initiative, a long-term program aimed at replacing high-water-use turf with more drought-tolerant alternatives.
According to the city, similar conversions can reduce water use in affected areas by as much as 70%, conserving millions of gallons of water over time.
The Great Lawn grass replacement is expected to continue through the end of August as crews remove the existing grass, prepare the site and install the new sod.
Visitors to the Municipal Center can expect construction equipment, temporary sidewalk closures, pedestrian detours and occasional noise during normal working hours while the work is underway.
Although the conversion is scheduled to finish in August, the Great Lawn will remain closed through September to allow the new grass to establish a healthy root system, officials said. Sidewalks surrounding the lawn are expected to reopen once construction is complete, and the lawn is expected to reopen to the public in October.
During the establishment period, residents may see watering outside the city’s typical overnight irrigation schedule. The city said the additional watering is temporary, permitted by Aurora Water under a sod permit and uses non-potable recycled water.
The cost of the replacement is estimated to cost about $200,000. The city pays have and half is paid for by a federal WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants program, city spokesperson Ted Bryant said in a statement.
The Great Lawn conversion is one of eight slated for areas across the city as part of the grant program.
Do you suspect that your water bill, Aurora citizens, even if you comply will go down 20% over the next few years? Didn’t think so.
Marshall Brown makes good water, buys nice ranches builds nice pipelines and tries to build nice reservoirs. We his paying subjects pays for all that before they are built.
Marshall Brown is not your friend, Aurora water customers.
Yes, the primary responsibility of the General Manager of our water utility is to ensure we have the water supply to keep up with our growing population and warming climate. This requires infrastructure investments. Our warming climate also requires we stop using thirsty grass for homes and city property.
There’s not a grand conspiracy. Big water isn’t trying to pull a fast one on you. Take the tin foil off.
Hey Bart, I’ll take the tin foil off as I watch you drink the kool-aide.
I’ve noticed, over time, that you are easily fooled. Try harder and dig deeper into all that effects Aurora citizens.
The city web site tells us they had a plan and set up a standalone secondary watering system. The Sand Creek filtration plant has produced non-potable water and pumped it to the Aurora Hills golf course and other city facilities. I expect city hall-the Great Lawn is one. Now for those decision makers the incentive to use non-potable water made specially and set-aside according to the city years ago (1968) carries little weight and priorities have changed. So they say – Maybe-Maybe not… And according to the water department the city has future plans to do away with all non-potable water. Thus, making all and any water produced in the city in the future to be treated water. They want to phase out the non-treated. What’s that going to do to solve the shortage problem? It will aggravate it. What this demonstrates is we are going backward with our water management. The great lawn had used untreated water, similar to the city golf courses. And we also know plants do better, they thrive, more with non-treated akin to rainwater versus water mixed with high chlorine and ammonia city additives. Now, the city thinkers tell us let’s replace that bad grass, cause that’s our problem? The city web site, a full page, talks about the principles behind our untreated water.
“Reclaimed water Conserving water for future generations”
“Since 1968, Aurora has used reclaimed water to irrigate golf courses, parks and landscaping at city buildings. Reclaimed water is wastewater that comes from homes and businesses that has been treated at a wastewater plant. Using reclaimed water reduces the demand on our drinking water system and conserves the water available in our reservoirs. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regulates the use of reclaimed water.”
https://www.auroragov.org/residents/water/water_system/water_treatment
The problem with Marshall Brown is that he has always treated the Water Department as a “private enterprise”. This makes all Aurora water customers his only revenue source. He should have looked at it as a public enterprise and made decisions for the betterment of Aurora citizens. He has not done this and continues not to do this.
Please leave the lawn as is.
Rake away the dead grass and weeds.
Just distribute and water-in the new Bermudagrasseed.
Otherwise very expen$ive to tear out the already-rooted existing grass and start over planting new grass.
Not in the long term.