On June 4, Governor Polis announced the activation of Phase 3 of Colorado’s Drought Response Plan, effectively declaring a statewide drought emergency as conditions continue to worsen. Phase 3:
This escalation underscores the severity of the situation and the expected impacts to public lands, agriculture and residential users. The Governor also committed state agencies to reducing water use at state facilities and strongly encouraged all Coloradans to use water wisely.
We are taking this situation very seriously. As reported in the May 20 Water Outlook to the Utilities Board, we have an adjusted expected water yield this year of 41% of average—the lowest on record. That’s nearly a 60% reduction in water entering our system due to record-low snowpack and unusually high spring temperatures that forced early peak runoff.
Thanks to long-term risk-based planning, we were prepared for the possibility of drought. We are heading into summer with nearly three years of supply in storage to serve our community. However, with so little water flowing into our system this year, storage levels will decline throughout the remainder of the year.
It can take multiple years to recover storage supplies following a drought year. That is a primary reason we are in Water Shortage Preparation, a preliminary stage of the City’s Water Shortage Ordinance, as approved by the Utilities Board on March 19. This stage allows us to fully use operational tools to maintain water system reliability. It also calls for increased outreach to customers and regional stakeholders about the importance of using water efficiently and adhering to Colorado Springs’ watering restrictions, the Water Wise Rules.
To support efficient water use, we encourage key actions that reduce water waste. These can be found at csu.org/waterwisetips. Last month, we also joined a statewide collaboration of water providers to share unified messaging on these key actions.
As our neighboring cities and communities face hard decisions this year, it’s essential that all of us make every drop count.