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__ _ _ _ iii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii <br />999 - <br />Platteville short of mater and nobody's selling <br />BY JUDO OCHOA <br />oehoa@~greeleytnb,com <br />PLATTEVILLE -This south Weld <br />County town will have to adapt <br />tougher lawn-watering restrictions <br />and buy or rent hundreds more shazes <br />of water if it is going to make the start <br />of a new water year in November, a <br />representative of the Central Weld <br />County Water District told town <br />board members Tuesday. <br />W f~ V ZLv `5 t,cn~ t, <br />WATER <br />save about 2,000 acre-feet of <br />water with atwice-weekly <br />watering schedule. An acre- <br />foot oC water is enough to <br />serve from one to three <br />households a year. <br />Council members agreed <br />that saving water is critical, <br />but they rejected the Gree- <br />ley Water and Sewer Boazd's <br />recommendation for twice <br />weekly watering in favor of <br />a less-strict standard. <br />Under current watering <br />regulations, residents are <br />allowed to water lawns <br />every other day. <br />City Councilman Harry <br />Felderman, who like nearly <br />500 other residents has <br />adopted a voluntary every- <br />third-day watering schedule, <br />---maid a-tvrir•-wccklywater= <br />ing policy might be too <br />tough on lawns. Council- <br />men Don Feldhaus and Ed <br />Phillipsen added that some <br />residents think the twice- <br />weekly watering schedule <br />would be too confusing. If <br />the council adopts the <br />every-third-day watering <br />system, the city would like- <br />ly match its system to one <br />Denver uses. <br />That way, Greeley resi- <br />dents could get watering- <br />day information Crom Den- <br />ver-area television and <br />radio broadcasts. <br />Other water conserva- <br />tion measures the council <br />proposed include: <br />^ increasing fines for <br />The board passed a motion <br />instructing staff to prepare a stricter <br />ordinance for lawn watering, which <br />could include a 20 percent reduction <br />in water use, and set times For wash- <br />ing cazs, buildings and sidewalks. <br />The town staff also is searching for <br />water shazes to rent or buy. <br />"The town does need quite a large <br />number of shazes of water,' said Plat- <br />teville's mayor, William "Bud" <br />Marker. "We don't have the allocation <br />that we need now for the number of <br />homes that we have:' <br />In past years, Platteville has been <br />able to supplement its inadequate <br />water supply by renting shares from <br />other towns. However, with drought <br />conditions this year, few towns are <br />willing to pazt with any extra water. <br />The town owns 677 units of Col- <br />orado-Big Thompson water, which <br />the Central Weld County Water Dis- <br />trict treats and delivers to Platteville. <br />Water supply discussion set <br />The water supply out- <br />look is grim as Colorado <br />faces the worst drought <br />in the state's documented <br />history. <br />With Chat as a back- <br />drop, the Northern Col- <br />orado Water Conservan- <br />cy District will conduct <br />two public meetings Fri- <br />day where officials will <br />talk about the situation <br />with those who use water <br />Erom the Colorado-Big <br />Thompson Project. <br />The first meeting will <br />be a[ 9:30 a.m. at the Fort <br />Collins Holiday Inn at <br />Interstate 25 and Colo. 14. <br />The other will be at 2:30 <br />p.m. at the Weld County <br />Southwest Building near <br />the intersection of 1-25 <br />and Colo. 119 at Del <br />Camino. <br />Northern water offi- <br />cials continue to monitor <br />and forecast water sup- <br />plies for 2003, and they <br />said the picture is far <br />from pretty. <br />Based on water use <br />this year and average pre- <br />cipitation, district engi- <br />neers estimate that only <br />50 percent of the water <br />from the Colorado-Big <br />Thompson wilt be the <br />best-case scenario for <br />next year. More likely, <br />between 30 percent and <br />SO percent will be avail- <br />able. <br />The project p; ovides a <br />supplemental water sup- <br />ply for mmtirpalities, <br />industryand agriculture <br />m fhe seven-county azea <br />of northern Colorado. <br />-slat! reports <br />people who violate water- <br />ing rules. Minimum fines <br />would increase from $10 to <br />$100. And maximum fines <br />would increase from $50 to <br />$500. <br />^ Disallowing watering <br />for newly seeded and sod- <br />ded lawns, unless the city <br />issued a special permit that <br />allows every-day watering <br />for new landscaping. The <br />proposed restrictions on <br />watering new lawns would <br />be lifted Oct. 1. <br />City Attorney Rick Brady <br />told the council that the <br />restrictions on new lawns <br />might be a hardship for azea <br />sod farms and nurseries. <br />Councilman Carlos Leal <br />agreed the measure was <br />drastic. <br />'"I hat's kind of harsh say- <br />ing, 'No water for new <br />lawns," Leal said. <br />But in the end, all seven <br />council members voted for <br />the conservation package, <br />including the ban on water- <br />ing new lawns. <br />'I don't want to be drink <br />ing sand in two years;' Fel <br />derman said. <br />One unit is equal to one acre-foot of <br />water, which is about 310,000 gallons. <br />Because conditions aze extremely <br />dry, the Northern Colorado Water <br />Conservancy District only allows the <br />town to use 70 percent, or 4?3.9 acre <br />feet, of water. <br />According to projections, Plat- <br />teville will use 690 acre-feet of water <br />See PLATTEVILLE, Page A7 <br />GREELEY (Colo.) TRIBUNE A7 <br />PLATTEVILLE OTHER TOWNS <br />through October, which means <br />it will can out sometime in <br />August. <br />Usually when a town goes <br />over its allotment with the <br />Central Weld County Water <br />District, it can buy water from <br />the district at an elevated price. <br />"In a typical year [hat isn't a <br />problem;' John Zadel, a repre- <br />sentative of the water district, <br />told the town. "But this year <br />the district is in a condition <br />whereby we are looking for <br />water ourselves. I have a lot oC <br />contacts, and I am working <br />with those contacts to Find <br />water for you:' <br />Residents of the town who <br />came to watch the board meet- <br />ing speculated that the town <br />,_mal~noc.haec fortrd.develop- <br />ers to supply enough water <br />when property was annexed <br />into the town. Developers have <br />to purchase an agreed-upon <br />amount of water for every <br />home they intend to build. <br />Some towns force develop- <br />ers to supply more than <br />enough water to ensure there <br />is enough in dry years. <br />The only way to find out if <br />Platteville did not require suf- <br />ficient water from developers <br />would be to look at past annex- <br />ation agreements, Marker <br />said. <br />If Platteville cannot find <br />water to rent ar buy, it may <br />have the option of using its <br />well, Zadel said. <br />- Using the well would be a <br />difficult procedure, but it just <br />^ JOHNSTOWN -Owns <br />about L,G00 acre-feet of <br />water and last year used <br />about 1,300 acre-feet. The <br />town has no lawn watering <br />restrictions in place. <br />^ FATON -Owns more <br />than 1,000 acre-feet of water <br />and typically uses about <br />one-half to two-thirds it. The <br />town has no water restric- <br />tions in place. <br />^ L.A sALLE -Owns <br />about 750 acre-feet of water <br />and usually has a tittle left- <br />over atthe end of the year. <br />The town has lawn waterlog <br />restrictions In place. <br />^ MILLIKEN -Owns <br />about 1,000 acre-feet of <br />water and used 514 acre <br />feet last year. The town usu- <br />aliy yells some extra water <br />but is holding onto it this <br />year in preparation for next <br />year. The town has lawn <br />watering restrictions in <br />place. <br />might work, he said. <br />The town may need that <br />option if conditions don't <br />improve greatly next year. <br />Without an extremely wet <br />winter, water allotments may <br />fall as low as 30 percent next <br />yeaz. <br />"There aren't too many enti- <br />ties that can withstand that;' <br />Zadel said. "I haven't seen a 35 <br />percent allotment, so this is a <br />whole different animal for us to <br />try and figure out what we're <br />going to do." <br />