Castle Rock implements Stage 2 drought restrictions as Colorado residents fear for their plants

The Town of Castle Rock has implemented Stage 2 drought restrictions in response to sustained high water demand and low Colorado water supply.

Back in May, Castle Rock put Stage 1 drought restrictions in place, which asked community members for a voluntary 10% conservation of water. But as people compensated for high temperatures by watering their plants, water use actually increased exponentially.

Now, Stage 2 drought restrictions are here, asking for a 25% decrease in water use. This time, there's a financial incentive to turn off the tap.

"Here is my rhubarb, which is not doing so well because of the lack of water," said Kim Byrne, a Castle Rock neighbor. "The black-eyed Susans do pretty well."

It's been a tough summer for Castle Rock gardens.

"It's always been a challenge in Colorado, but even more so this year because it's been so dry and making sure we're following the watering regulations," said Byrne.

And it's about to get tougher.

"Obviously it's been very hot and dry," said Mark Marlowe, director of Castle Rock Water. "You get these high temperatures, and people are trying to compensate. Some people have irrigation systems that will water more because it's dry, to try to compensate for the amount of water that the plants need to be green."

The perfect storm -- or lack thereof -- is pushing Castle Rock into Stage 2 drought restrictions.

"We've been operating at a fairly large demand level for quite some time. On top of that, renewable water supplies are very stressed," said Marlowe. "Our water supply index has dropped substantially. That's how much supply we have relative to the current demand. Temperatures stayed very high, and understandably, people want to irrigate and they want to water and they used quite a bit of water through June and continued into July."

Under the restrictions, watering is reduced to twice a week, and Tier 2 outdoor water budgets are cut in half. If you use more, you'll pay a higher rate.

"August 1 is when the new water budgets will go into effect," said Marlowe. "When we reduce their outdoor watering budget, it doesn't mean that the water turns off when they hit that budget. It just means that they go into a higher rate category sooner than they normally would."

"People are making those tough choices on how they're spending their money. I mean, food costs have risen," said Byrne.

It means gardeners may be forced to choose between their pocketbooks and their flowers.

"Definitely concerned. So we'll have to do some assessments on how long we water, so that it gets deep enough into the roots to hopefully keep them alive," said Byrne. "A little frustrating because of all the development that's being done down south, and thinking that we're not going to be able to maintain this landscape that we've worked so hard to build."

"There's always kind of one next new thing that you need to adjust to," said Chris Cote, Terrain HOA board member.

HOAs are also feeling the heat.

"It's this constant effort to dial back the water, and yet at the same time dial back the threat of the fire," said Cote. "Every year we do maintenance on the fences, and this was the year where everybody was supposed to standardize to one color, and so that's supposed to be done by the end of the year. But power washing is now something not allowed, and that's usually the first step for anybody in doing their fences. So we'll probably revise that date."

Cote said the Terrain HOA has worked to xeriscape common areas and comply with a new town ordinance forbidding HOAs from citing homeowners over brown grass.

"I let my neighbors know jokingly today that those of them who haven't leaned in voluntarily and still have green grass, I'm officially narcing on them as of today," said Cote.

This summer, Castle Rock yards likely won't be winning any awards.

"Especially the perennials. I'll make sure that they stay alive. The annuals, I'm more willing to let go of and maybe watch them wither," said Byrne.

"We're all used to having lush landscaping, green grass, flowers," said Cote. "People really just need to change their expectation of the standards that a community can be kept to."

"Most of the landscapes that we have in Castle Rock will be able to sustain. They may go brown and they may not look great, but they'll be able to sustain until we get some rain or until we get into the fall and cooler weather," said Marlowe.

Marlowe said it's unlikely that Castle Rock will need to escalate to Stage 3 drought restrictions this year.

He hopes the moisture Castle Rock is getting this week means the worst of the hot, dry days are behind them.