Erie town officials on Friday morning told residents and businesses that all sprinkler systems must remain shut off at least through the end of March, with water demands currently approaching “30% higher than usual at this time of year.”
The town said it will monitor for irrigation system use and will turn off water service at the property taps if residents, HOAs and businesses don’t comply with the request to shut off sprinklers. The mandate aims to help the town “maintain enough water for household, indoor use, and for availability in hydrants for emergencies,” the town announced.
For most large HOAs, this will only turn off irrigation water, according to the town. For individual households and lots, this would turn water off for the whole household or building.
The town is asking the community to “wait as long as they are able” to begin outdoor spring irrigation, and asks that even numbered addresses begin irrigation no earlier than April 4 and odd numbered addresses begin irrigation no earlier than April 6.
“This is an extraordinary measure for an extremely precarious situation. The Town does not take turning off water taps lightly, we are also expecting windy conditions in the coming days which will increase fire danger,” the announcement says.
According to the town, the current winter capacity of the water system “cannot handle the extraordinary early use of irrigation,” as Erie, “like many Front Range communities, does not receive enough raw water in the winter to supply the demand from irrigation systems.”
This is a developing story and will be updated with more details.