La Junta Xeriscape Garden Applic

Home Browse Search

CITY OF LA JUNTA WATER CONSERVATION PROJECT PROPOSAL 1. SUMMARY DESCRIPTION The City of La Junta proposes to construct a Xeriscape Garden as part of a new park development which will promote the beauty of arid and semi-arid plant life. This project will demonstrate the advantages of water conservation in landscaping and encourage public and private use of native vegetation, drought enduring plant life and dry landscapes. The Denver Water Department first created the concept of Xeriscape in 1982 and has described Xeriscape as "an enlightened approach to gardening that offers exciting ways to improve the appearance of landscapes while dramatically conserving three precious commodities; water, money, and leisure time." Since 1982, use of xeriscape has been promoted by others in Colorado. The Water and Sewer utility Charqes and Practices in Colorado published in February 1991 by the Colorado Municipal League listed eight other public locations for Xeriscape Demonstration Gardens in Colorado. Because all of these gardens are in the metropolitan areas, the concept has not adequately reached rural settings and cultures like La Junta. A third of the state's population is in such areas, and we cannot reach the full potential of water conservation in Colorado until our entire population knows the full value of all our natural resources. La Junta is in a region of high temperatures, low precipitation, and high evaporation rates. In 1992, the average high temperature was 86 degrees and precipitation for the year was 12.7 inches. The mean pan evaporation for southeastern Colorado is 67 inches per year. Clearly, potential evapotranspiration greatly exceeds precipitation. In spite of these conditions, La Junta grew with the perception that water is an unlimited resource. Original sections of the city were near the Arkansas River and water was readily available from the river alluvium. The Arkansas River flowed eternal. The public was perhaps unaware that major water diversion projects, such as the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, were necessary to maintain that flow. As La Junta expanded toward the semi-arid prairie to the south, larger lawns and new parks were developed using landscape materials and methods imported from more water affluent regions. Today, approximately 38% of the annual water consumption is for landscape irrigation. The City government alone uses 90 million gallons of water annually on its parks system, which accounts for 1.7 million gallons per acre. Nearly 100% of current landscape within the city is some type of non-indigenous grass that requires substantially more water than naturally occurring rainfall to stay alive. Water conservation has become vital to our present and future. The city of La Junta plans to develop several acres of public land for a new park. Proposals for the park include a new baseball field, a picnic area, a hiking trail along King Arroyo, and a Xeriscape Garden west of the trail. An existing skateboard park