City leaders in Brighton enforcing water restrictions amid ongoing Colorado drought
A growing number of Denver metro area communities are under water restrictions due to the state's record-low snowpack. Some cities are stricter than others in implementing drought surcharges and fines, and in asking city employees, such as waste collectors, to report people who violate those restrictions.
Brighton city leaders are no strangers to implementing water restrictions and issuing fines, even when it hasn't been a severe drought season. But officials say they hope more people will do their part this year.
Where city parks would be covered in green grass this time of year, many are brown and dry. Some residents worry it may get worse before it gets better.
Brighton is jumping on the bandwagon, doing its part to conserve.
"The snowpack is very low this year. This morning, when I was looking, it was about 32% of median, which is extremely low," said City of Brighton Director of Utilities Scott Olsen.
Residents can water lawns two days a week before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. and cannot have pools of water on the property.
"If you're found in violation a third time, you would be subject to a fine," Olsen warned.
The restrictions will be enforced by the city, and fines could cost up to $1,500.
Olsen said, "We bring our whole department into it. So, we have staff that are out there all day, every day, doing their typical work. And they are trained on the enforcement process, and they can report those violations to a central staff member."
One violation could result in the installation or replacement of a lawn with new sod.
David Schulte had helped other cities remove terrain and encourage water-wise sod installations, like a Tahoma 31 Bermuda grass blend. Tahoma 31 requires low watering, low mowing, and low maintenance.
"You can save up to 50% on your outdoor water bill with Tahoma, but you can also have a space that's going to be nice and green and lush in the summer, and you'll water it maybe every four days for ten minutes," said Schulte.
It's a solution he hopes can be a greener path to tackling Colorado's drought.
"We'll work with Brighton. We'll work with all the various cities to find the best solution for Colorado," Schulte said.
Brighton also has a restriction on installing turf for areas larger than 200 square feet.
As for hand watering, residents are still allowed to hand-water their landscapes under the current restrictions. On even numbered street addresses, irrigation is allowed on Tuesdays and Fridays. For odd numbered street addresses, the permitted days are Wednesday and Saturday. Irrigation at unassigned addresses is allowed on Monday and Friday.
