Castle Rock has officially tightened the tap. As of July 21, the town is under mandatory Stage 2 drought restrictions that cut outdoor watering to just two days a week and shrink outdoor water budgets to tamp down peak summer demand. Town officials say the tougher rules are designed to keep enough water flowing indoors for essential uses after weeks of dry weather and strained supplies. The new limits also ban power-washing driveways, cap hand watering at twice a week and scrap temporary exemptions for newly installed landscaping.
Town outlines rules and the 25% goal
The town’s drought-management page reports that Stage 2 took effect July 21 and carries a water-savings target of roughly 25 percent. The plan also cuts Tier 2 outdoor water budgets in half and suspends temporary “Water Wiser” exemptions, according to the Town of Castle Rock.
What residents can and can't do
Under Stage 2, automatic sprinklers and in-ground irrigation systems are limited to two days per week on an address-based schedule, and hand watering is also confined to two days a week. The town is discouraging new landscaping projects and has outlawed power-washing of driveways, sidewalks and fences. Residents are being urged to skip nonrecirculating outdoor fountains, too. As reported by the Denver Gazette, officials point out that outdoor irrigation makes up more than three-quarters of summer water use, while reservoir storage and streamflows remain below normal.
Storage, treatment and the regional picture
Utilities across south-metro Colorado have been working to broaden their water portfolios, but they say storage space and treatment capacity still create bottlenecks. The 75,000-acre-foot Rueter-Hess Reservoir serves as a key regional storage hub, yet experts note it is still in the process of filling and that purification plants are being expanded so stored water can actually be treated and delivered, per Water Education Colorado.
How to comply and where to get help
Residents can look up their two-day watering schedule, use run-time calculators and check out rebate programs at CRconserve.com. The town says there are no changes to water rates, drought surcharges or violation charges at this stage. A July ordinance also bars homeowners associations from issuing brown-grass violations while Castle Rock is under an official drought stage, according to the Town of Castle Rock.
