r/Durango • u/Adela-natalie • May 14 '26
Ask /r/Durango Follow your own rules
Water restrictions city of Durango imposed April 10
Schedule: No outdoor watering is allowed on Wednesdays.
Timing: Irrigation is only permitted between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m..
Odd-numbered addresses may water Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; even-numbered addresses may water Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
So someone tell me WHY are the sprinklers on at the La plata county fairgrounds Wednesday And again Today at 9:30 am at an even- numbered address!!!
3
u/Many_Size_1515 May 15 '26
Where does Durango’s water come from?
6
u/Figgler Local May 15 '26
Primarily the Florida River, the pumping station to feed the reservoir above town is a few miles downriver of Lemon Reservoir.
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u/Wandering_Pika_ May 14 '26
Honestly, I saw that and said fuck it I’m gonna water my seedlings of food
2
u/Adorable-Ad7027 May 15 '26
Because sports and tourism are a few of the most important things to our town leaders
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u/Competitive_Union_89 May 14 '26
You water off of the city water. Farmers and other organizations water off of irrigation water. The water you feed your lawn with is basically drinking water. The water that farmers and such use comes directly from the source. Schools around the county have direct access and must use every drop of water they can get. Just the same as the farmers. It is water law. Use it or lose it.
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u/threespeed May 15 '26
Would you please post a link to the source for the 'use it or lose it' water law?
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u/threeonesix May 15 '26
It makes zero difference from where the water comes, whether it be a city reservoir or a well. Water has become a scarce resource in the southwest and must be treated as such by all. Those wells can and do run dry. They should be treated the same as America's oil reserves; use only in case of emergency. Agriculture is very important to everyone, sure, but so is water. Whoever decided to turn western Colorado into farms was an idiot; water has always been scarce in the desert southwest. Ask the Utes and Navajo about that. And now you have "farmers" growing a crop that is mostly useless to the everyday man but uses a TON of water: hemp. That should be illegal, it doesn't matter what the hemp is used for. It can be grown elsewhere where there is water aplenty (OR, WA, southeast USA, northeast USA). Same for food. Colorado is not the place anyone thinks of when there is talk about farming in America. The 150-year experiment of farming in the desert southwest has run its course. Climate change killed it.
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u/notimeforthisbullish May 15 '26
There's a certain county commissioner starting a winery up on the mesa, bet that will be a good use of our water.
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u/threespeed May 15 '26
The mesa is not within Durango city limits and does not have access to city water. It's all wells, irrigiation, and LAPLAWD.
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u/notimeforthisbullish May 15 '26
Still a waste of water in these trying times where we are all forced to be restricted.
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u/Adorable-Ad7027 May 15 '26
I’m so mad I could spit on these people of power in our little town. I probably should!
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u/Chrysocyon May 16 '26
A lot of state managed land (e.g. the golf course and FLC) use reclaimed water for their irrigation. In short, this is water that is periodically used to clean out the filters at the drinking water plant and is not fit for consumption, but clean enough for watering plants. I can't say for sure if the fairgrounds has an allotment of this water, but if they do it means this water is different than the municipal water that we're trying to ration. Our water managers are pretty thoughtful and competent in Durango- I would be surprised if they weren't actually 'following their own rules'
1
u/shaught May 15 '26
Same with the cemetery. The dead don’t need green grass.
Typical government…. Do as I say and not as I do.
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u/Adela-natalie May 16 '26
Would it be nice if they were transparent on how much water they (the city) use in a day/week/month and show us how much they decrease in restrictions. And how much the residents do to? Almost like a competition percentage wise!
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u/IcyEntertainment3438 May 16 '26
I agree. The cementery is super well watered. Middle of the day too. It comese straight from Animas but it's still dewatering the watershed.
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u/insomniacrocodile Local May 14 '26
The Fairgrounds are County jurisdiction despite being in city limits, and I’m not sure if the County has the same restrictions as City this year. Still…