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September 12, 2012--Who’s consuming the most water in Durango? (Durango Herald)

Fall is finally providing some relief after a summer when drought sent half the counties in the United States into disaster status. Images of dry river beds, parched fields and kernel-less corn filled airwaves across the county. La Plata County saw those same images up close as the Animas River shrunk to near-record lows and crops shriveled in parched fields. Many farmers in the western part of the county faced a summer without irrigation water. But because of water rights that date back to 1882, Durango’s water kept flowing as usual, pumping an average of 128.5 million gallons per month to our thirsty city. That water keeps taps flowing, washing machines running and lawn sprinklers sputtering. In 2010, each person in Durango used 209 gallons of water per day, down from 232 in 2004. Commercial users consume 567 million gallons, or about 44 percent of the city’s treated water annually. The city’s 20 top users are a diverse bunch, from hotels to hospitals, car washes to schools. The top user is Fort Lewis College, followed by Escalante Middle School and the La Plata County Fairgrounds.

To view the full article, visit the Durango Herald. For a copy of the original article contact the WIP at (970) 247-1302 or stop by the office at 841 East Second Avenue in Durango, Colorado.


 


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