We must limit turf in new developments and ban new turf golf courses

Although Western water issues have been receiving news coverage for several years, those challenges recently have become common knowledge. Ensuring safe, reliable water is becoming more of a challenge for many entities, including Aurora.

It’s critical now that elected officials take a proactive approach to meeting the water needs of their growing communities. That’s why, as mayor of Aurora, I have proposed a new water conservation ordinance that will not only save a great deal of water but will preserve community amenities in a sustainable way.

Aurora long has embraced a strong conservation ethic. We were one of the first cities to use reclaimed water for municipal irrigation. We’ve limited the amount of turf in yards for several decades.

In 2010, Aurora brought the first potable reuse system in the state, Prairie Waters, online. Even with Aurora’s innovative approach to water conservation, up to 50% of our annual water use still goes to outside irrigation. Water used for irrigation cannot be recaptured and is lost for reuse. As one of Colorado’s fastestgrowing cities, securing water to meet the needs for future generations is a huge challenge.

Now we want to be the first city in Colorado to limit the use of water-intensive turf that serves only an aesthetic purpose. My ordinance will allow for turf in new developments and for redevelopment if it meets a functional and programmatic purpose. Medians, curbside landscape or street lawns, commercial borders, non-functional HOA common areas and even new front yards will not be permitted to use turf. Backyard turf will be limited to only 45% of the yard, or 500 square feet, whichever is less. Community parks will continue to have turf where it is regularly used, such as social areas. New golf courses that require turf will no longer be permitted because a single golf course can use enough water to serve more than 1,200 homes.

It’s important to point out that this ordinance is forward-looking. It applies to new development and areas being substantially redeveloped. Current residents and businesses are not impacted by this change.

The ordinance does not mean that we don’t want any landscaping. Aurora has many beautiful examples of efficient water-wise landscaping, and we will continue to encourage our current residents to take advantage of Aurora Water’s robust rebate programs to covert their existing turf to this more practical option. We still want a beautiful city that can provide shade and plant options that help cool the environment, so the high standards set by our city code will still apply.

Aurora’s water can travel up to 150 miles, using a series of tunnels, pipes and rivers to move from the mountains to our community. We have a diverse and widespread portfolio of water rights, yet we are seeing a decline in the availability of additional water rights. The challenges we are facing, in the arid West, including the Colorado River, are likely a precursor for the other basins that Aurora, and most of the Front Range, relies on.

Colorado often has called its mountain snowpack its biggest reservoir. Yet that snowpack has been declining for several years, with runoff coming earlier and less predictably. We need to be smart if we want to maintain a vibrant economy with affordable options for our current and future residents and businesses. Water is critical to meeting life, health and safety needs. Taking action early rather than waiting for a crisis to come gives us leverage, leverage to grow and become a community on our terms.

I encourage other cities to join Aurora in embracing water conservation as effectively as we have. We need to face our future with determination and forethought. We need to be aggressive and take the initiative. We need to ensure that our communities have the water they need to thrive into the future. We need to act now.

Mike Coffman is the mayor of Aurora and before that served as congressman for the 6th Congressional District.