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Drought

Aurora moves back to NORMAL restrictions

Thank you, Aurora, for helping us meet our outdoor water use reduction goals. Our reservoirs are recovering and are currently at 84% of capacity. City Council has moved us back to our normal three-day-per-week watering schedule effective June 29th. Look for your new suggested watering times postcard in the mail next week or learn more on our watering times.


Aurora and Drought

Colorado has a semi-arid environment and is a drought-prone state. The Front Range receives approximately 15 inches of precipitation in the form of rain and snow on an annual basis, which is insufficient moisture to meet the needs for most non-native landscapes without supplemental irrigation. During water shortages, water must be prioritized to meet potable needs for life, safety and health.

Aurora Water has a Water Management Plan that was approved by city council and provides triggers and mitigation stages to allow for the reduction of water demands. These reductions are limited to outdoor water use, primarily by restricting the number of days permitted for watering landscape in progressive stages. Stage triggers are determined by an internal Drought Action Team that meets regularly to monitor supply and demand. Mitigation efforts – such as pursuing outside water leases from other water entities and constraining or interrupting leases from Aurora Water to outside entities – are fully vetted, as are operational changes that may yield additional potable water without significantly affecting customers. 


Aurora stores water in 12 reservoirs across three river basins. Our goal is to maintain more than 30 months of water demands available to help buffer us from Colorado's drought cycles.

Aurora Water Reservoir Summary – Oct. 2, 2023
Storage
Active Capacity (a.f.)
Current Content (a.f.)
% full
Aurora Reservoir
31,064 28,838 93%
Quincy Reservoir
2,693 2,541 94%
Jefferson Lake
2,313 848 37%
Aurora Rampart Reservoir 1,238  1,083 87%
Spinney Mountain Reservoir
53,651 43,175 80%
Shared Storage* 65,452 54,159 83%
 Total 156,411 130,483 83%
   
 * Aurora is in many reservoirs across Colorado. Since we move our water to meet many needs, this number represents Aurora’s water in these other reservoirs at this time. All numbers in this report should be considered to be an estimate or projection. Included in shared storage is Aurora's share in Homestake Reservoir, Turquoise Lake, Twin Lakes Reservoir, Pueblo Reservoir, Strontia Springs Reservoir and Lakes Meredith and Henry
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