U.S. Water News Online
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Residents will be able to water their lawns once a week during the winter, one day less than they've been able to turn on the sprinklers this summer.
It's the same watering limit imposed last year between Oct. 15 and mid-April.
Some residents were worried that the limit wouldn't allow them to get enough water to trees but the watering restrictions only apply to sprinklers. People can use a hose with a shut-off nozzle or a bucket to water trees as much as they would like, Colorado Springs Utilities project leader Anna Seder said.
Despite this summer's frequent rains, utility officials point out that mountain reservoir levels remain low because this year's snowfall was dry and yielded about half the amount of water as usual.
The state's largest utility, Denver Water, began the summer by limiting customers to twice-weekly lawn watering but later added a third day.
Colorado Springs Councilman Jerry Heimlicher said he had considered keeping the twice-a-week limit during the winter to help save trees but was relieved to learn people could water them more frequently.
"The experience of watering once a week (last winter) seemed to satisfy everybody," Councilwoman Margaret Radford said.
The city plans to cut down 200 downtown trees that have suffered because of the drought, city forester Jim McGannon said. Parched trees are more likely to be infested by beetles.
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