U.S. Water News Online
DENVER -- Coors Field will be green when the Colorado Rockies host baseball teams at home this summer, but it won't be because the team is ignoring statewide drought conditions.
``Any idea that we waste water on the field, just because it's so green, is totally wrong,'' said Coors Field head groundskeeper Mark Razum.
This summer, to deal with a three-year drought, Denver Water's residential customers will probably have to limit lawn watering to 15 minutes twice a week for each zone covered by the reach of the sprinkler. That works out to just under three-fourths of an inch of water a week, or almost as much as Coors Field uses to keep green.
Denver Water plans to use stiff surcharges on excessive water use to pressure its 1.2 million customers to cut back this summer. Even the Rockies must reduce overall water use by 30 percent or pay hefty charges.
Ballparks and other big-time water users will have a set amount of water to use as they please. Penalties could go up to 500 percent above normal charges for going over budget.
When the ballpark was built a decade ago, the Rockies engineered a field with the right soils and drainage to use as little water as necessary.
The Rockies' watering regimen is based on keeping players safe, with victories, pro careers and big bucks at stake.
``We've got million-dollar players out there,'' Razum said. ``We can't have dry, slick, loose turf and lose a player like Larry Walker,'' a seven-time Gold Glove winner and a former National League MVP
The Rockies are still conserving water, though.
The team has switched from fire hoses to highly efficient sprayers to clean the seats after each game, which could conserve 3.5 million gallons this season.
Players at Coors Field will bathe beneath low-flow shower heads, which will reduce the stadium's water use by 500,000 gallons this season, said Kevin Kahn, the Rockies' vice president of ballpark operations.
Instead of hosing down sidewalks, concourses, ramps and gate areas, crews will use scrubbers that recirculate water.
As the ballpark upgrades or repairs its 74 restrooms, it will put in only low-flow toilets, Kahn said.
Until the drought is over, ponds and fountains in the 76-acre stadium will have no water, he said.
Coors Field's playing surface is 3 acres, about the same amount of grass along a city block in most Denver neighborhoods.
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