Millions of gallons of water have been saved across Lafayette, Louisville and Erie as officials tout their community efforts to curb usage.<\/p>\n
But officials say they still aren’t in the clear, with about 90% of the state still under drought conditions. Much of Boulder County remains in “extreme”\u00a0drought as of early September, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Data from a NOAA weather station in Boulder has recorded about 8.7 inches of precipitation so far this year. At the same time last year, the station had already recorded 15 inches of precipitation in Boulder.<\/p>\n Lafayette enacted its Stage 1 Drought Response in April,<\/a> asking the community to limit outdoor watering to two days per week, and remains at that level.<\/p>\n From April 10 through the end of August, the city saw around a 13% reduction in water use, or about 111 million gallons less than the projected usage for that time of year, according to Cari Bischoff, Lafayette\u2019s water resources manager.<\/p>\n Lafayette\u2019s reservoir storage \u2013 held in the Goose Haven Complex and Baseline Reservoir \u2013 is currently about 80% full, and Bischoff said the Lafayette community and city staff have done \u201ca great job responding to the call to conserve.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the drought is \u201cfar from over,\u201d Bischoff added, and continued water-efficient practices and conservation efforts are \u201cnecessary to help secure Lafayette\u2019s supply” as the city heads into a new water year, the 12-month period from Oct.1 through Sept. 30.<\/p>\n Lafayette will likely remain at Stage 1 through \u201cat least the end of the water year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Neighboring Louisville also continues enforcing its own voluntary water restrictions, which city officials announced in May<\/a>.<\/p>\n Louisville’s average July usage is about 194 million gallons, according to city spokesperson Grace Johnson. In past dry years, usage was higher than the average, at roughly 208 million gallons. This July, 183 million gallons were used, 6% less than the average and 12% less than the “dry-year” average.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have seen good response from the community to voluntary restrictions,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe\u2019re very grateful for everything our community has done this year to save water.\u201d<\/p>\n Louisville officials will encourage the community to stop routine lawn watering and turn off irrigation systems by Oct. 1, after Denver recently mandated the same measure<\/a>. It won\u2019t be a mandate in Louisville, but will be \u201chighly encouraged,\u201d Johnson said in an email.<\/p>\n \u201cWith drought conditions continuing, we\u2019re keeping a close eye on our water supply and encouraging people to limit water use as much as possible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n