The Colorado Water Conservation Board is funneling $40 million to dozens of water projects statewide as communities grapple with a drought emergency that is making saving water more important than ever before.
Among the 136 projects receiving state support this fiscal year, which ends June 30, is a $2.3 million grant that will pay nearly half the cost to install new, automated irrigation control systems across 105 Denver Public School system sites. Another grant, for $227,225, will help the city of Trinidad with early studies on repairing and potentially enlarging Monument Lake Reservoir.
Still another grant, for $111,855, will help pay to train and certify metro area teens in becoming turf replacement specialists. Operated by the Neighborhood Resilience Corps, the initiative will replace 23,000 acres of grass at sites that include the Governor’s Mansion and other state facilities.
The grant awards come as Colorado faces a stunning drought year in which winter mountain snows were historically low and a spring heat wave melted those snows early, slashing water available for cities, industries and farms to use.
Aurora, for instance, is expecting just 10% of its normal water supplies this year, according to Tim York, manager of water conservation for Aurora Water, and its reservoirs stand at 57% full.
As cities broadcast the need to cut back water use to preserve water stored in reservoirs, homeowners and businesses have flooded cities like Aurora with requests for help to design drought-proof landscapes and replace thirsty bluegrasses with lawns that need much less water.
“Our approved applications have doubled over what they were last year, so that is pretty good,” York said, referring to applications for Aurora’s landscape conversion program. “Our free design program is similar. We have a waitlist.”
He said the CWCB grants, coupled with Aurora’s aggressive water conservation initiatives, are critical to helping the state cope with the drought emergency and create more sustainable water systems.
Aurora is a supporter of the Neighborhood Resilience Corps’ youth training effort. York said the opportunity to train young people is important.
“Anytime we can do that with young adults who are interested, it’s always a great idea,” he said. “We might do the conversions, but if we can get that benefit and inspire and teach young adults, why not.” York was referring to the city’s programs that remove thirsty lawns and replace them with drought tolerant landscapes.”
Boulder-based Resource Central, another agency that has partnered with the CWCB on statewide conservation efforts, said it is seeing an unprecedented number of requests for its services.
“Demand for conservation programs is off the charts,” said Neal Lurie, president of the nonprofit agency. “We’ve seen more interest in the first three weeks of this spring season than we did all of last year.
“To me that says the message is resonating with people that they have an important role to play,” he said. “That’s good news.”
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