Water supplies in question after fire

After an abnormally dry winter, Colorado Springs reservoirs were not as full as Colorado Springs Utilities had hoped.

CSU said they were optimistic in the spring, saying they had enough water to get the community through the summer without water restrictions.

Then the Waldo Canyon Fire broke out.

Thousands of gallons of water were extracted from local reservoirs, but CSU said it is not concerned about this amount.

“We’re not highly concerned, we think it’s something we can manage,” said CSU Spokesperson Patrice Lehermeier.

Lehermeier said helicopters hold about 400 gallons of water, with the MAFFs units carrying 3,000 gallons of water. She said, while this sounds like a lot, about 3 million gallons of water would need to be extracted before a “dent” would be made in the reservoir levels.

Lehermeier said the bigger concern is the fact that the community has been using more water this year, than it did last year.

According to CSU, the year-to-date consumption as of July 8 is 14.6 billion gallons, with 3.42 inches of precipitation. The year-to-date consumption as of July 8 last year was 13.5 billion gallons, with 3.32 inches of precipitation.

“The fire had an impact on the community and on our water system, but long term we can recover from that. What we can’t recover from is continued increased use of water in the community,” said Lehermeier.

Lehermeier said she cannot say with certainty Colorado Springs will not have water restrictions later this season, but at this time they are content with the voluntary restrictions that are in place.

“If we have another winter like we had this past year, it’s possible that we could be looking at some mandatory restrictions next year,” said Lehermeier.

CSU is asking for the community to be conservative with their water usage. For a list of tips, click here.

“We are at that place where the community can really make a difference with the future of water right now,” said Lehermeier.