Water Shortage Response Planning

The first reading for the Water Shortage Action Plan was scheduled to go before City Council March 17; however, with the growing concerns of COVID-19 several items on the agenda were postponed. The 1st reading is now planned for April 7, 2020 and the 2nd reading is planned for April 21, 2020. Council agendas can also be found here.(External link)

Fort Collins Utilities has updated the current Plan. Just released is the proposed plan with updates, including a new name - Water Shortage Action Plan. Check it out!

Updates reflect:

• Input received from engaging more than 800 people and 1,300 survey responses on what water priorities are the most important and which are least important (e.g., ok to restrict during a water shortage).
• Best practices determined by the State's Colorado Water Conservation Board and identified from research on other water providers' plans.

Click here for a summary of proposed changes.

From hundreds of customer survey results and other community input received, Utilities has drafted the following guiding principles to reflect customers water use priorities and other best practices.

• Restrict less essential uses and avoid restrictions on essential uses
• Include potential increases to supply to response measures, whenever feasible
• Minimize adverse economic impacts
• Allow as much public activity as possible to be unaffected
• Implement extensive public information and media-relations program
• Avoid irretrievable loss to natural vegetation
• Collaborate regionally and with adjacent water districts when feasible

After more than a year of feedback collection, Fort Collins Utilities has learned a lot from its customers about what water uses they would prioritize during a shortage. Below is the list of proposed changes to be considered by City Council (planned for the March 17 meeting). For reference, the current Water Shortage Response Plan can be found here(External link).

• Create a voluntary response level (example: a water shortage watch)
• Create an alternative response level (example: implement when outdoor use restrictions won’t be enough to close the gap)
• Encourage voluntary indoor water use best practices across all response levels
• Remove current response level #2 and consolidate current four response levels into three response levels
• Add an outdoor lawn watering target in each response level
• Spray irrigation for perennials and annual landscapes and tree watering requirements will be the same as lawn watering requirements. You will no longer be allowed to water daily, unless by hand or drip irrigation
• Remove 2 hour watering window restriction
• Align dust suppression with City's Dust Control and Prevention Manual
• Added street sweeping restrictions
• Require dry cleaning preparation methods first, when feasible
• Splash parks will be less restricted than previous requirements
• Created restrictions for individual recreation water toys and outdoor misting devices
• Exception permits available for large lawns based on gallons per square foot equivalent for lawns 4 acres or more and City parks and school playing fields
• Specified different watering allowances for active vs. inactive park spaces and other community areas to ensure athletic playing fields are watered more for safety
• Require raw water users to register with the City during a water shortage (previously a recommendation only)
• Change water rates to increase only volumetric charges, not base rates

31 people weighed in on what water use activities they believe should be restricted during a declared water shortage on the Our City site. Here's how they responded:

Non-essential street sweeping - 24 votes in favor

Personal/individual outdoor water toys, such as slip and slides - 18 votes in favor

Outdoor misting devices, commonly seen at restaurants - 18 votes n favor

None of the above, the current Plan shouldn't add any of these as restricted uses - 4 votes in favor

Other - 6 votes in favor

Over 250 people weighed in on their top four water use priorities at various events around town this fall. Here's how people responded (each of the four water uses selected as top priorities were equally weighted):

Indoor residential - 98%

Safety and health (hospitals, essential cleaning, schools) - 93%

Indoor Commercial - 71%

Non-grass, landscaped areas (veggie gardens, trees) - 57%

Public outdoor recreational use (HOA or City Park pool, splash park) - 44%

Personal/private outdoor recreational use (slip n slides or personal pool) - 12%

Grass (commercial or residential lawns) - 17%

Other - 7%