Longmont’s drought plan will be reviewed Tuesday night by the Longmont City Council with a variety of scenarios aimed at conserving water from the voluntary to the drastic.
The council study session begins at 7 p.m.
Under the drought plan, city staff members will compare raw water supply with projected demand and monitor the storage levels in Ralph Price Reservoir and the St. Vrain Creek Basin. If the combination of supply and available storage exceeds projected demand by more than 135%, the city’s water supply will not be considered in a drought scenario, according to a city staff report.
The drought plan includes guidelines for staff members and the city’s Water Board to follow in advising the city council if drought conditions persist and grow, according to a city staff report.
City Manager Harold Dominguez, under the advice of city staff, has the power to declare a specific response level in the case of an emergency.
If doubt conditions do not exist, the city will likely use a public education campaign about water use and encourage water restrictions, such as no unattended irrigation between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Parks and golf courses will also be asked to conserve water when possible.
As drought conditions grow, other measures will be used to conserve water, the staff report states.
Under Level One Drought, voluntary water conservation measures will be encouraged for service customers.
A Level Two Drought brings mandatory watering restrictions for customers of Longmont Water Utilities and city properties and schools.
A Level Three Drought invites harsher cutbacks. “Restrictions will result in severely cutting back or completely eliminating watering based upon severity of the Level Three drought,” according to the staff report.
The city will also eliminate any surplus water rentals while bulk water permits and sale of water through fire hydrants will not be allowed under a Level Three Drought. Hydrant use for irrigation also will not be allowed, according to the report.
