CRC_SlowTheFlowPhase1_FinalReport

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rocky Mountain News: Local Page 1 of2 Rocky Mountain News To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URL: http:j jwww.rockymountainnews.comjdrmnjlocaljarticlejO.1299.DRMN_15_3781219.00.html Learning to become water-wise Lafayette embraces conservation efforts By Jerd Smith, Rocky Mountain News May 16, 2005 LAFAYETTE - During the long drought summer of 2002, Charlotte Levi's lawn was brown beyond belief. "We didn't have one blade that was green," she said. Water supplies were short. Residents were put on a tough water diet. Usage had to be slashed 75 percent. As their lawns dried out, residents were told to keep the faith. "They (Lafayette water officials) kept saying, 'Don't worry, it will come back.' I didn't believe a word of it. But they were right. It bounced back beautifully," Levi said. These days, Levi's lawn is still lush. But that's because she is now skilled at making small amounts of water go far: After rainstorms, her sprinkler system is turned off. In a week of normal summer weather, she may run it every third day. Each spring, she triple aerates her lawn, and she takes advantage of free sprinkler- system audits the city offers homeowners. Thanks to the efforts of Levi and others, this city of 25,000 has cut water use by more than 20 percent, a phenomenon being seen up and down the Front Range. Last year - the latest for which figures are available - Lafayette residents used just 117 gallons per capita per day, a rate among the lowest in the metro area. How long Lafayette residents' miserly ways will last isn't clear. Cities are loosening restrictions as the drought wanes. This year, about two-thirds of the 30 Front Range communities surveyed by the Rocky Mountain News will simply ask residents to voluntarily limit water use, while fewer than 10, including Colorado Springs and Aurora, will enforce mandatory watering rules. Lafayette, however, hasn't used watering restrictions since the summer of 2002, relying instead on nonstop hom.eowner education programs, a water-wise landscape ordinance, free drought-friendly landscaping seminars and a four-year, 41 percent compound hike in water rates. "Though we started out as the poster child for the drought, we've become a leader regionally in terms of water conservation," Lafayette Mayor Chris Berry said. So interested are Lafayette residents in conserving water that the city routinely turns people away from its free xeriscape seminars. Home-owners often must wait more than a year to get the free sprinkler- system audits offered through the Boulder Center for ReSource Conservation. In addition to analyzing and fine- tuning sprinkler systems, auditors also help homeowners determine the best watering schedule for individual landscapes, according to Kara Csibrik, a program manager at the conservation center. Even as Lafayette revels in a wet spring, the City Council will decide this summer whether to adopt a special http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/cda/article orint/0.1983.DRMN 15 37Rl? 1 C) R/1 h/')()().c;