COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — About half of our water supply in Colorado Springs comes from the Colorado River. That’s according to Sam Schreier, the water conservation specialist at Colorado Springs Utilities. He tells me that if we don’t start conserving more water, the river could face a shortage, which is obviously not a good thing. “so us getting used to three days a week watering saves our current supply and helps mitigate or at least push that threat of one day a week watering to later down the road.”
New “Water-Wise” rules are in place - on top of the regular rules that are in place year-round. Now, Colorado Springs Utilities says you should adjust your watering time to before 10:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. to help save the Colorado River. Schreier tells me “If the Colorado River still has issues down the road, it’s possible if we’re facing a short enough supply, we would have to go down to one day a week watering which would be exceptionally difficult for existing landscapes…. Sod isn’t going to handle that well.”
You may be wondering… “But what about all the moisture we have been seeing?” Well, to answer that, I spoke with meteorologist Alan Rose. He says there are a few things to consider when it comes to moisture… we have a higher-than-average elevation, angle of the sun, and time of day. All of that helps dry up our moisture just about as quickly as we can get it. That’s why the Water-Wise rules have been put in place. Failing to follow the rules can result in fines, and stay in effect until October 15th, 2024.
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