We could not be more pleased with the way Durangoans have responded to the request to reduce their water usage in the face of the Gold King Mine water spill. A 70 percent reduction was the amount stated Sunday afternoon, and a number that large is significant.
But as encouraging as that amount is at a time when the state of Colorado is facing some tough decisions about how to balance water usage with population increases on the Front Range, no one expects 70 percent to be the benchmark.
That number includes no city park or golf course watering, nor for school playing fields, nor at the college. And, for Durangoans with a lawn, there was a rain of a tenth or two of an inch midweek (about the time of the county fair, which is predictable). And for trees and the deeper rooted scrubs, that comes after two weeks in May and two weeks in June of wet conditions. It has been a wet summer.
Lawn-be-gone, promoted by lawnless water engineer Steve Harris, has not caught on.
The Florida River provides about 9 second feet of water by pipeline to Durango for the bulk of what the city needs year round. Water pumped from the Animas River is largely what keeps lawns, gardens, parks and playing fields green during spring, summer and early fall. That is the water that had to be cut off because of the contamination, and a reduction in Florida River water usage followed because of the community effort.
Coincidently, in recent weeks, there have been further conversations about using the water that the city has in Lake Nighthorse. That water was once in the Animas River, of course, but as an off-river reservoir, it was filled before any issues with Animas River water quality. Lake Nighthorse water, treated by pipelines and a plant that would be shared by the rural La Plata-Archuleta Water District to the east, would be an ideal short term alternative source of water if needed.
A possible mineral-laden Animas River makes that a desirable option, a benefit brought to the forefront by the sight of yellowish mine waste water flowing past.
Most Durangoans are conservation-minded in much of what they do. That means recycling, walking to some extent and avoiding plastic bags. Durangoans can conserve water, too.
Perhaps recent events can be considered to be a trial run at using less water on a large scale. Not 70 percent less, but nevertheless a significant number. Years from now, we might look back at early August 2015 as a turning point in water conservation.
