New watering restrictions take effect in Denver and Aurora; expect "enforcement and hefty fines"

Starting on Thursday, people living in two of the biggest cities along Colorado's Front Range face tighter water restrictions.

In Denver, all lawn watering will be banned in the city starting on Oct. 1. In Aurora, you can water your lawn until Oct. 15, but starting Oct. 1, there are some other restrictions that take effect.

While both communities say customers have done their part to save water this summer, these cities are still tightening the rules heading into the cooler months, which shows the severity of the drought conditions.

"This is only the second time we've done this. We did it in our last major drought in 2002," said Greg Fisher, Denver Water's manager of demand planning. "We try not to do these things except for in the most serious situations."

Denver Water customers who don't follow the rules and are caught watering their lawn could face a fine of $500 on a first offense, $1,000 on a second offense, and on a third offense, another $1,000 and suspension of the customer's water service.

"We upped our fines because this is becoming more serious. We really need to save water, and we're trying to reinforce that with enforcement and hefty fines," said Fisher. "We know the vast majority of our customers are going to do the right thing, but we want to hold those accountable that aren't."

In Denver, hand-watering trees and shrubs is still permitted year-round.

This week, Aurora City Council unanimously passed a measure on a permanent seasonal irrigation restriction and ban, the first of its kind.

"We haven't had an ordinance that puts a prohibition on spray irrigation starting on a certain date, but we've always said it's a best practice to have your irrigation system start shutting down around Oct. 1, when that freeze starts to happen," said Kirby-Lynn Shedlowski, the public relations manager at Aurora Water.

In Aurora, under the new ordinance, starting Oct. 1, spray irrigation and sprinklers will have to be turned off in areas of non-functional use like green belts and medians.

Then, starting Oct. 15, spray irrigation and sprinklers will be prohibited in high use areas like homeowners' yards, parks and athletic fields. They'll need to stay off until April 30.

"We really start encouraging residents to start thinking about getting those irrigation systems winterized, blow them out, work with your landscaper, or your irrigation specialist and get them ready for winter," said Shedlowski. "Pipes are sensitive and when we get that first frost, you could cause costly damage if you have water in them and they freeze."

Under the ordinance in Aurora, you also cannot install turf or water features like fountains and ponds.

With the current stage one drought restrictions put in place earlier this year, Denver and Aurora water customers have only been able to water two days a week. In both communities, it has made a difference.

"The Aurora community has done an amazing job of stepping up and helping to conserve water. Our goal was a 20% reduction in outdoor water use, and we achieved that as a community," said Shedlowski.

"We've seen a steady improvement as the summer has gone by, and our customers saving more and more and more," said Fisher. "We saw a 14% savings the last couple months, so they're (customers) doing a great job throughout really challenging weather conditions.

Reservoir levels remain low though. In Aurora, the 12 lakes and reservoirs that support the city's water supply are at 41% capacity, where on average this time of year, they're sitting at about 84% capacity. In Denver, reservoirs are about 68% full right now, compared to the average of about 90% full this time of year.

Denver provides watering and sprinkler exemptions for high-traffic areas like sports fields, parks and golf courses.

Denver Water customers can take a picture of a violation and report the violation on Denver Water's website. They'll also have Denver Water field staff driving around and looking for violators.

In Aurora, there will be a community open house happening on Nov. 19 where residents can speak with Aurora Water staff about the drought conditions on the city's water supply. The meeting will be held in the Aurora Municipal Center lobby starting at 5 p.m.