Aurora City Council members unanimously passed a Stage I Water Shortage declaration in Monday night’s meeting, putting restrictions on outdoor water use starting immediately. The shortage declaration imposes restrictions on outdoor watering for residents and businesses and reduces commercial user allocations, such as that for golf courses, by 20%, according to Aurora Water General Manager Marshall Brown. With the passage of the shortage declaration Monday night, Aurora Water officials will also start to ramp up enforcement. In the past, enforcement was gentle, water officials said. This year, officials will issue one warning. 

Other water restriction and conservation news:

• KUSA (Denver, Colo.): Aurora City Council unanimously passes water restrictions
• NBC7 (Denver, Colo.): Aurora Water program pays customers to replace traditional grass lawns with drought-friendly plants
• FOX13 (Salt Lake City): Pollinator program offers grants to help Utahns grow drought-tolerant native gardens
• WyoFile (Cheyenne): Opinion: In a changing West, resilience is already on the landscape