From the Boulder Daily Camera (Carol O’Meara):
On the surface, the Colorado Water Plan approved Nov. 19 by Gov. Hickenlooper is an ambitious road map for managing, conserving and protecting this vital resource.
But still waters run deep, and if you look closely, you’ll see the plan is designed to help Colorado face climate change, population boom, protect wildlife, keep agriculture vibrant and support economic growth.
All while preserving our quality of life.
“Our water picture has changed over the last 10 to 15 years; it’s no longer good enough to just have water law managing our water,” said James Eklund, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, which wrote the plan.
“We’ve had record fires, flooding and historic drought — the worst we’ve ever measured. We’re warmer by 2 degrees; our summers are going to be hotter and our growing season extended.”
[…]
“With water being recognized as a major factor for the state’s long-term growth, now comes the tough discussions and decisions needed to implement a state water plan that works and delivers the quality of life we all treasure,” said Kristen Fefes, a board member for GreenCO, which is an alliance of seven landscape-related associations.
Landscape water use accounts for 3 percent of state water, which might seem like a drop in the bucket. But a study commissioned by GreenCO suggests that homeowners reducing over-irrigation by 10-20 percent can save 86,500 acre-feet of water over 40 years.
“Because landscape water use is so visible, it is often the main target — and main solution — for saving water. But it’s not the only solution,” Fefes said. “There’s no silver bullet; it’s going to take work on a lot of fronts to conserve water. We believe that xeriscape and other sustainable landscape practices will continue to gain popularity with Colorado consumers. They’re already a business model for us.”
Education might be the biggest challenge and an area where Fefes hopes the state and local policy makers lean on the green industry.
“Landscape water use is complicated and how much to use depends on a variety of factors — soil, sun, slope,” Fefes said. “There’s no one answer to ‘how much water does landscape use?’ Industry members have technical knowledge to give customized answers to homeowners. We can be a big asset for state and local policy makers in education, outreach, and implementation.”
Eklund and Fefes agree that urban landscapes are integral to our quality of life and not expendable. Its value to mitigating heat islands and reducing pollutant runoff is just as important to sustainability as water conservation.
“The knee-jerk reaction is that we can conserve our way out of this, but we’re looking at all the tentacles into lives that could trip us up,” Eklund said. “The heat island effect could mean that a person keeps their air conditioning on. If a person stops watering their lawn and it dies, when it does rain we get all that dirt and pollutants washing off and into the wastewater system where we all pay money to treat it.”
Eklund adds: “We must create a conservation culture, use efficient irrigation, teach our kids that we live in a high desert and water is limited. People moving here need to know that, too, and not plan for the lush landscapes they might have had back east.”
The green industry is committed to being partners with the CWCB in closing the water gap, Fefes said. Find tips for how you can conserve by signing up for the ALCC Tip of the Week at http://lcc.com. Find the Colorado Water Plan at http://coloradowaterplan.com.