Town of Vail details plan to reduce water use by half during extreme drought summer

The Eagle River Water and Sanitation District has asked the town of Vail to reduce its water use by one third this summer, and the town plans to go beyond that with an aggressive plan to cut outdoor watering dramatically.

Town Landscape Architect Gregg Barrie presented town staff’s plan to the Town Council on Tuesday, showing specific instances in which the town can achieve major reductions in water use through the forgoing of irrigation of turf areas. Barrie said he’s expecting to see an overall reduction of about 50% this summer under the new plan, a critical savings as snowpack in Vail was the lowest in recorded history this past season.

“First, non-functional areas get turned off, then we will move to some of our pocket parks and start reducing that down to one day or zero days per week,” Barrie said. “In Intermountain, Willow, Gore Creek Promenade, we won’t be putting sod down or irrigating that area, and also Staub Park will be reduced.”

Additional reductions would then affect neighborhood parks including Ellefson, Buffehr Creek, Red Sandstone, Sunbird, Booth Creek and Pirateship, as well as the outer areas of Bighorn and Stephens parks.

“For the time being we’d like to try to keep some of those off-leash areas open as best we can to allow people a place to walk their dogs, but that’s going to have to shrink as time goes on,” Barrie said.

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The Ford Park and Donovan ball fields would be the second to last areas in town to stop receiving outdoor irrigation, with the lawn at the Ford Amphitheater and the plants at the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens the highest priority assets in need of outdoor irrigation.

“We’re going to do our best to keep (the Ford Park and Donovan ball fields) open and functional during the drought by working with our partners, and I think we can do that,” Barrie said. “If the water district gets to a point where they said no outdoor watering allowed, we will do our best to keep those athletic fields open.”

The town has also taken a closer look at the amount of water being used in the town’s public water features, and will shut down some of those features.

“The Children’s Fountain can’t be drained down during the week, it would just be a stagnant pool if you’re not running it, so it’s just not a great scenario,” Barrie said. “And that fountain does, because of evaporation, use a lot of water, so we’re not recommending that we would keep that fountain open, even part time.”

The best water feature for children, when it comes to minimizing loss of water, is the splash pad at Sunbird Park in Lionshead, which does not require refilling when not in use.

“It only loses 100 to 150 gallons a day when it’s operating full time, so if we were to look at this as an option, we could run it Friday, Saturday, Sunday afternoons during the summer,” Barrie said.

The town’s annual flower program, which ordinarily uses approximately 18,000 gallons of water per week, will be scaled back to under 3,000 gallons per week.

Only a limited number of flower beds will be planted in pedestrian areas within Vail Village and Lionshead, representing approximately 15% of normal plantings and water use. No annual flowers will be planted in areas primarily viewed by passing vehicles. The town will prioritize drought-tolerant annuals such as poppies, snapdragons, verbena, salvia, calendula and nasturtiums, and any annual flowers that are not planted will be released to the Gully Greenhouse retail market in Denver.

“We’re recommending eliminating the hanging baskets in Vail Village, because the liner of the pot is just not very water efficient … whereas the Lionshead hanging baskets are much more water efficient and can thrive on two days per week,” Barrie said. “It’s about 300 gallons per week to water the 38 hanging baskets in Lionshead, so over the course of a week it’s not a crazy amount of water.”

The remaining flower displays will include the Skier Statue planting area, the Lionshead Welcome Center steps, the Covered Bridge beds, the International Bridge plantings, and the Children’s Fountain beds. These plantings are projected to use approximately 2,870 gallons of water per week.

For trees, shrubs and perennial planting areas, drip irrigation will be reduced to one or two days per week depending on weather conditions and ERWSD guidance. Additional water conservation measures will include reducing bus, fleet, fire and police vehicle washing to only when necessary. Water use associated with maintenance and construction activities will continue unless further restrictions are imposed.

Town Manager Russell Forrest said educating guests on why Vail is reducing water use will be an important component of the overall effort, as well.

“We’re anticipating a good summer right now, nearly 14% up in terms of occupancy, so we’re trying to find that balance to ensure that we continue to deliver an incredible experience for our guests and our residents,” Forrest said. “We’re going to have to be nimble. Today we know what the rules are, and where we’re at, tomorrow might be different.”