Aurora has become the latest large Colorado water provider to impose Stage 1 drought restrictions, limiting outdoor watering to twice per week in the state’s third-largest city and prohibiting the installation of thirsty turf lawns.
The new rules, , also include levying a $2.15 drought surcharge per 1,000 gallons on customers who use more than 110% of their winter quarter average usage. That is based on a household’s water use in December, January and February.
Aurora’s measures went into effect immediately and based on address. No watering is permitted between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and the filling of private swimming pools is prohibited, though topping off is allowed. The city’s water utility serves around 400,000 customers.
“We are asking our Aurora community to come together and help us achieve this 20% (reduction) by taking water restrictions seriously,” Marshall Brown, Aurora Water’s general manager, said in a news release Tuesday.
Customers can view the weekly watering schedule online at .
Aurora’s measure comes a couple of weeks after Denver Water, with 1.5 million customers across the metro, announced its own Stage 1 drought restrictions. Usage limits on customers of Colorado’s largest water provider include twice-a-week watering restrictions on assigned days and requirements that restaurants serve water only upon request.
The last time Denver Water implemented this level of restriction was in 2013. Its board is set to consider drought surcharges for heavier water usage on Wednesday morning.
Arvada also put in place Stage 1 drought restrictions on Monday, with many of the same limits as those being enforced by Denver Water and Aurora Water. They go into effect on April 15.
Colorado is experiencing its worst snowpack levels since record-keeping began in 1941. Statewide snowpack, as of Tuesday, was at 24% of the median — about a quarter of what the state typically has this time of year, according to data from the .
Thornton was the first large water provider in metro Denver to put in place Stage 1 drought restrictions, making its declaration about a month ago.
Last week, Boulder , which is a level of caution short of Stage 1. The city said it would reevaluate whether it needs to impose stricter limits by May 1.
