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Water restrictions for Glenwood

Greg Mass

Glenwood Springs residents could soon be forced to reduce their water consumption as part of a declaration made by City Council that the city is in a moderate drought. The decision to jump from the mild drought category, which calls for voluntary water restrictions, to moderate drought was made early Friday morning at the council’s meeting. The goal is to reduce water use by 30 percent.Council members said that while the city doesn’t have a severe shortage yet, the declaration is part of being a “good neighbor” to those who live downriver from the city. “It’s a reflection that it’s more important to have water in the stream,” said Councilman Dave Merritt, who also is chief engineer for the Colorado River Water Conservation District.In the city’s draft drought management plan, moderate drought water-use reductions will immediately start with the city government, which will begin to reduce its own water use by 35 percent “to demonstrate leadership in dealing with the crisis.”There are no mandatory water restrictions for residents yet, but if council passes the draft plan at its next meeting, restrictions could be implemented.Under them, water use within the city would be monitored and policed by water department personnel and police. It is not yet clear how the restrictions would be handled, but they would likely come in the form of restricting water use to specified hours and days for all customers, according to the draft plan. Some other measures included in the draft plan are: -New lawn plantings from seed or sod would be prohibited.-Customers would be encouraged to voluntarily limit or eliminate nonessential water uses.-A “how to save water” brochure would be available for customers. -Car, truck and boat washing would be restricted on dealers’ lots, as well as at residences. The next level would be severe drought, where the city would try to reduce water use by 50 percent.


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