Water restrictions may be over soon
After restricting its customers from watering lawns and washing cars, the Cherokee Metropolitan District says it may be able to lift the ban as early as Friday afternoon.
The Colorado Springs City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to provide the hard-pressed district with nearly 2 million gallons of water a day.
“Once I have this water actually flowing into the pipelines, I intend lifting the restrictions and going back to Stage 2,” District general manager Kip Petersen said.
Stage 2 restrictions allow customers to water on designated days twice a week for a maximum two hours.
Hot weather and a refusal by customers to stay within Stage 2 confines in past weeks reduced supplies to dangerous levels, coming at what Petersen called the “worst possible time.” Had the shortage occurred two weeks later and the water was flowing from Colorado Spring Utilities, he would have opted to stay at Stage 2.
Though he says he regrets having to move into Stage 4 at all, the ban of watering lawns and washing cars got the provider through the weekend.
District water supplies have been limited since the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that Cherokee could not continue to take water from the Upper Black Squirrel District’s sources.
Colorado Springs Utilities will treat and deliver water from the Pueblo Board of Waterworks through the Fountain Valley pipeline.
Jean Beam is originally from Liverpool, England, but has been a Cherokee customer for 30 years. She attended the meeting to support the Colorado Springs Utilities-Cherokee deal.
“I don’t know much about politics,” she told the council, “but our condition is a great source of concern, and we very much appreciate any help.”
“The biggest thing is property value,” she said after the meeting. “When you’re on a fixed income, you don’t have the means to Xeriscape or something. I’m very concerned. It’s shocking how it got to this point.”
The deal will come at no extra charge to the district’s approximately 7,400 customers this year, but it may show up on monthly bills next year, Petersen said. It depends on the weather and water from various new wells and acquisitions, which should begin flowing within the next four to five weeks.
Plans call for water to flow between Colorado Springs and Cherokee until the end of 2009, when construction of a line to a wastewater treatment plant will be completed. That will double well capacity, Petersen said, and should lift the district out of any water shortage problems.
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0366 or khari.johnson@gazette.com
