New El Paso County planning reference warns of massive water shortage by 2060 (Castle Rock: houses, buyers)

[otowi]

El Paso County could face an annual water shortage of nearly 18 billion gallons in 2060 if it doesn’t increase its supply of water by more than a third.

https://gazette.com/news/new-el-paso...ntent=headline

This is no surprise at all to those who have been here awhile - water has always been and always will be an issue and in particular a major challenge for growth on the Front Range.

[BornintheSprings]

This is a worldwide issue made worse by climate change and poor conservation practices. I wonder how draconian the laws will become as water becomes more and more precious?

[LHS79]

Originally Posted by BornintheSprings

This is a worldwide issue made worse by climate change and poor conservation practices. I wonder how draconian the laws will become as water becomes more and more precious?

Some smart moves would be doubling the water rates and mandatory xeriscaping.

Not even close to draconian but people really need to conserve this precious resource.

[wong21fr]

This also points to residents having to not be idiots and to understand where their water comes from and the consequences of such. If you're part of CSU you should be covered. If you moved to Black Forest, Monument, etc. for your open space than you better get used to paying $1,000/month for your water and sewer because well water ain't gonna cut it.


Same goes for Douglas County residents further north. The pain is coming Castle Rock.

[mtngigi]

Originally Posted by LHS79

Some smart moves would be doubling the water rates and mandatory xeriscaping.

Not even close to draconian but people really need to conserve this precious resource.

Agree wholeheartedly. Green lawns of Kentucky Bluegrass have no business being used - does this start with developers? Xeriscaping can be quite beautiful.

[BornintheSprings]

Originally Posted by LHS79

Some smart moves would be doubling the water rates and mandatory xeriscaping.

Not even close to draconian but people really need to conserve this precious resource.

These would be good steps to take.

[ryanek9freak]

Thank you all for saying Xeriscaping, and not Zeroscaping. I see that all the time and it annoys the F out of me.

[LHS79]

Originally Posted by ryanek9freak

Thank you all for saying Xeriscaping, and not Zeroscaping. I see that all the time and it annoys the F out of me.

Zeroscaping is practiced by people that put 100% rock in their yards and no native vegetation.

If you do xeriscaping correctly every month there are new colors blooming and after a few years you can usually shut off the drip systems used for watering.

I have done it on my two houses here and the pruning/weeding work is usually the only draw-back. I love the lower water bills though!

[BornintheSprings]

Do cities like Albuquerque have water requirements like the ones proposed?

[DoodlemomCoS]

Originally Posted by BornintheSprings

Do cities like Albuquerque have water requirements like the ones proposed?

Use to live in abq. You can only water there on set days and at certain times on those days. If water is draining off your property due to sprinkles, you got a fine (even if lawn was on a slope). Also if you watered during non-designated times and days you got a fine.

We ended up putting synlawn in our backyard there to conserve water. (Plus you could never keep your real grass green.) We liked it but because we got the very good synthetic stuff it was pricey! Our house sold in less than a day when we moved and the buyers loved the fake lawn.

Up here we have no lawn so it’s a non issue about outdoor watering.