This Colorado city has been put on drought watch and implemented a burn ban following dry weather
By Sarah Horbacewicz
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COLORADO (KCNC) — One city in Colorado has entered an official drought watch as dry conditions continue this winter.
The city council shared their desire to be proactive and asked residents to voluntarily limit water use where they can as the dry conditions continue. This also comes as North Metro Fire Rescue, which services Broomfield, put a level 2 burn ban into effect on Sunday.
Now, Broomfield residents like Susanne Eck are closely watching the weather and their water use. “Everybody is just aware of how we’re in a drought right now. We haven’t had the snowfall that we’ve needed,” Eck said.
In order to conserve water and save money on a rising water bill, last year, Eck converted her front yard to a “zero-scape” design. This means that instead of grass, her yard is landscaped with rocks, mulch, and a tree or two that requires less water.
“Water is a limited resource, and with people moving into Colorado, it’s just strained the system a lot. And so we decided we do our part to try and reduce our water footprint,” Eck said, while noting her water bill has gone down by a third this year.
This dry season isn’t just impacting water use in Broomfield, but putting firefighters on high alert as North Metro Fire put a Level Two Burn Ban in place Sunday. This means no open flames outdoors, restricting any barbequing, and being vigilant about any cigarettes or other flammable materials outside.
North Metro Fire Public Information Officer Katie Converse says the dry weather is also keeping firefighters on high alert, explaining, “We’re seeing more red flag days and more level two burn bans this year because of the dryness, and we’ve upped our staffing, and we’ve sort of changed our tactics.”
Converse says they are also expecting to have a Red Flag Day later this week and want to make sure residents are taking burn bans seriously.
“Especially on these warm days as we see the wind kick up, which it’s supposed to later this week, folks need to be really careful with any sparks or flames outside, and be sure to sign up for their emergency alerts,” Converse said.
Both the drought watch and the burn ban are precautionary measures as the Broomfield community works to best prepare for dry weather and winds this winter.
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