{"id":574015,"date":"2026-04-09T14:25:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/574015\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T14:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:25:13","slug":"durango-to-set-water-restrictions-amid-extreme-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/574015\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango to set water restrictions amid extreme drought"},"content":{"rendered":"

City working to revise management plan to increase enforcement capabilities<\/p>\n

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Sprinklers do their thing Thursday at Greenmont Cemetery. The city of Durango plans to implement water restrictions this week or next amid extreme drought conditions. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/p>\n

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The city of Durango plans to implement water restrictions this week or next as it anticipates a difficult water year during extreme drought conditions.<\/p>\n

Public Works Director John Harris said the city\u2019s 2020 water supply and drought management plan is somewhat toothless as far as actionable water management steps, and he is working on a revised plan.<\/p>\n

However, expecting the worst drought conditions since 2018, the city cannot wait for the new plan to be completed before enacting water restrictions, he said at Tuesday\u2019s Durango City Council meeting.<\/p>\n

Harris said he will recommend revised stage 1 restrictions limiting lawn watering to three days a week and assigning days by household.<\/p>\n

He said Public Works data demonstrate most residents water their lawns about three days a week. The restrictions are intended to spread out demand on the water system on any given day.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy spreading the irrigation out over a six-day period, people will still be able to irrigate three days a week,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe instead of Monday, Wednesday, Friday, it might be Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday.<\/p>\n

Lawn irrigation accounts for 70% of city water use, or about 100 gallons per capita per day, he said. Indoor uses such as showering, washing clothes and drinking water make up the remaining 30% of water use.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe greatest opportunity to reduce water use is to cut back on our lawn irrigation where we can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The city currently prohibits lawn irrigation between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. when no drought restrictions are in place.<\/p>\n

Earlier restrictions incoming<\/p>\n

New stage 1 restrictions would restrict residents from spraying off their driveways and sidewalks and restrict outdoor fountain use at nighttime to reduce evaporation, Harris said. The city will encourage businesses to reduce their water use, but more well-defined restrictions would be implemented at later stages.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the city would reduce its fleet vehicle washing and temporarily suspend its fire hydrant flushing program.<\/p>\n

Harris said the Parks and Recreation Department has already begun revising its irrigation schedule to reduce water use.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s more of a challenge as you can imagine for a large park that might have 15 or 20 irrigation zones. It\u2019s just not possible to go to a three-day week schedule,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The department is already reducing the time it spends irrigating large parks.<\/p>\n

Harris said stage 2 would impose restrictions on personal vehicle washings, although commercial car washes would still be permitted. Outdoor fountain use would be prohibited entirely. Businesses would be further encouraged to reduce their water use. The city would not wash fleet vehicles except in cases where not doing so would endanger public health.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will for the first time restrict use of water docks to indoor use only. Entities, businesses, individuals that might be using water for outdoor uses, we would restrict that use if we go to stage 2,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Revising the drought management plan<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s existing drought management plan was developed in 2020, and though it makes recommendations throughout stages 1 and 2, it doesn\u2019t actually enforce water restrictions until stage 3, he said.<\/p>\n

Currently, stages 1 and 2 are focused on educating residents about water conservation and warning of possible restrictions in later stages.<\/p>\n

The plan is tied to the city\u2019s reservoir levels and snowpack, and according to the plan, the city should already be in stage 4 water restrictions. Harris said it\u2019s too early for stage 4, but not too early for limited restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people have not yet started irrigating their lawns. It would be good to get folks in the habit of these changes as they turn on their systems for the year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Drought maps from the U.S. Drought Monitor demonstrate drought conditions this year, right, are notably more severe than during the same time last year. A center drought demonstrates conditions in Southwest Colorado in April 2018. (Courtesy city of Durango)<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

La Plata County is in extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The city of Durango is updating its water supply and drought management plan to enforce restrictions earlier than the current 2020 plan outlines. (Courtesy city of Durango)<\/p>\n

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Referencing the U.S. Drought Monitor, he said most of La Plata County, including Durango, are in extreme drought conditions. A northern part of the county is in exceptional drought conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cShades of gray, really \u2013 there\u2019s not a lot of water,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Snowpack, which measures the height and depth of snow, is lowest on record for Southwest Colorado. He said the current snowpack is just 13% \u2013 about 4 inches compared with 30 inches.<\/p>\n

Snow water equivalent \u2013 which he described as the amount of water that would remain if snow were to instantaneously melt \u2013 is also lowest on record dating back to the 1980s at less than 3 inches compared with the 30-year average of 18 inches.<\/p>\n

The city of Durango relies primarily on the Florida River for its water supply. It has water rights to 8.92 cubic feet per second, or 5.76 million gallons per day from the Florida River, he said. When the city needs more supply, it pulls from the Animas River, from which it has water rights to 6.82 cubic feet per second, or 4.4 million gallons per day.<\/p>\n

Pumping water uphill from the Animas River isn\u2019t cheap. Harris said in years when the city has had to utilize the Animas River, electrical power alone to pump water costs about $100,000 annually.<\/p>\n

In spring, the city typically has a demand of 2 million gallons per day. That nearly triples from July through September, he said.<\/p>\n

In 2018, the city\u2019s Florida River supply went from about 6 million gallons per day to about 2 million gallons per day \u2013 \u201ca pretty significant loss,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are technically in what we call a normal condition. Water is flowing as it normally would this time of year. But you can look in the mountains and see that\u2019s not going to last for very long,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Harris said lawn irrigation would be further limited to two days out of the week should the city need to advance to revised stage 2 restrictions.<\/p>\n

The idea is to reduce water use by 20% in stage 1 restrictions and 33% in stage 2 restrictions \u2013 totaling more than half the city\u2019s water use, he said.<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/p>\n

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