Drought in Colorado Creating a Need for Water Conservation
More than half of the residents in the Rocky Mountain State have been affected by this year’s drought, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. Those with the Ute Water Conservancy District agreed to work together to try and save their precious water resource to make it through the rest of the summer.
The entire year has been dry for Colorado, and the hot summer is bringing heat and worry.
“The drought’s only going to get worse, so is the heat, so we need to stay on track and continue to conserve water,” said Joe Burtard, the external affairs manager for the Ute Water Conservancy District.
Burtard also stated that they pull mostly from Plateau Creek. This body of water normally runs at about 300 cubic feet per second; right now, it’s only moving at 23 cubic feet per second. This is only slightly more than the level it was at during the drought of 2002.
The Conservation group is asking that residents do their best to cut down on water usage during this time. You can do things like shorten your showers, turn off the water when brushing your teeth or shaving, and only washing full loads of dishes and laundry.
The Conservation group is also encouraging outdoor water usage to come to a minimum. Cleaning your driveway, patio, and sidewalk can be done with a broom instead of a hose. Irrigating early in the morning can also lower costs and water usage.
Finally, you can do your part to repair any leaking water that might be occurring in your home. Fixing an easily corrected household water leak can save you around 10% of your water bills, and you can save hundreds of gallons of wasted water.
“Unexpected usage of water is leaking toilets, and so every domestic water provider here in the Grand Valley is handing out free toilet leak detector tablets,” said Burtard.
Burdtard finally stated the importance of teamwork in this operation.
“We’re all in this together and we need to be responsible here in our own community to ensure that we have enough water to get us through the entire year,” said Burtard.
