photo of a converted xeriscape that was previously a lawn area

The City of Aurora, Colorado and Aurora Water have been pioneers in water conservation through supporting regionally appropriate landscape design.  Outdoor Design Group has been actively involved with the program for the last couple of years.  For 2010, the Xeriscape Rebate program has been allocated $250,000 dollars for rebates to convert high water use landscapes (sod, turf, or lawn) to Xeriscape. 

In past posts on this blog, I have documented the money and water savings and given examples of the beauty of these landscapes.  Each site is different, but in general you can expect a reduction in irrigation water use of 30-70%, and a 20-40% reduction of landscape maintenance costs.  This is a great opportunity for HOA’s, commercial properties, and homeowners to achieve long-term savings, in addition to acquiring the rebates.

Here are some key aspects of the 2010 program, from Aurora Water’s website:

• Xeriscape is a great landscape option for our climate because of its reduced watering needs and ability to tolerate periods of drought.
• In addition to decreased water consumption and resilience to drought, Xeriscape has the potential to significantly decrease time and resources expended on maintenance.
• Aurora Water customers interested in Xeriscape as a landscape alternative may be eligible for a rebate of up to $1 per square foot for turf grass that is replaced with low water use plant material.
• $250,000 has been allocated for the 2010 season. The maximum square footage (rebate) is $10,000 for residential and $25,000 for commercial and large properties such as Homeowner’s Associations and multi-family dwellings.

For commercial and large properties such as home owners associations- the program requires that you haver a plan prepared by a licensed landscape architect.  This is a good idea anyway, as a landscape architect can help you prepare a budget and phasing for the project before you commit to a contractor to do the installation.  Landscape architects are also good at communicating what the new landscape will look like- through the use of plans, photos, drawings, and presentations.

Aurora is an ideal community for a rebate program like this, because there are many older landscapes were built in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s, and are ready for a renovation simply to update the look of outdated properties.  Although most new landscape codes mandate low water use landscaping, that was not the case in the past-  many older landscapes were designed in a way that requires large amounts of water and maintenance.

But Aurora is far from alone in offering this type of program.  Water supplies are stretched extremely thin throughout most of the Western United States.  A simple Google search for “Xeriscape rebate” brings up 26,400 results.  Similar programs exist throughout Colorado, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and elsewhere.

Related Posts:

• Xeriscape Rebate Programs Provide a Great Opportunity for HOA’s and other Property Owners
• Save Money and Water by Converting Sod to Xeriscape
• The Top 10 Benefits of Making Landscaping More Water Efficient
• How Much of my Water Goes Toward Irrigating my Landscaping?
• Collecting Rainwater Still Illegal in Much of Colorado

Here are excerpts from a recent article I came across at the Denver Post (Clarke Canfield, AP), on this emerging trend:

Ever since the invention of the automobile, paved roads have meant progress. Now some cash-strapped towns and counties are finding progress too expensive, and they are tearing up battered roads and putting down gravel.

The high price of pavement and the sour economy have driven municipalities in states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Vermont to roll up the asphalt — a mile here, a few miles there, mostly on back roads — rather than repave.

“Do we really need to keep getting fancier? This is also about quality of life,” said Richard Beal, a selectman in the town of Cranberry Isles, Maine, population 118, which got its first paved roads in the 1960s. The town is considering ripping some of them up rather than spending the $500,000 or so that Beal said is needed next year to fix them.

The U.S. has more than 1.4 million miles of unpaved public roads, according to the Transportation Department.

Paved roads are particularly susceptible to deterioration in cold-weather states, where they take a beating from freeze-and-thaw cycles and road salt. States have gotten federal stimulus dollars for roads and bridges, but local municipalities have, for the most part, been left in the dust.

In Michigan, more than 50 miles of paved county roads have been converted to gravel in the past few years, according to the County Road Association of Michigan. Most of those roads aren’t well traveled, but this year, one county turned a 10-mile stretch of primary road into gravel for lack of money, said association spokeswoman Monica Ware.

Related Posts:

• Collecting Rainwater Still Illegal in Much of Colorado
• Developers turn to Uniquely Themed Communities in Difficult Housing Market
• Up to $25,000 Rebates Available through 2010 Aurora Xeriscape Program

Many businesses and homeowners are looking for ways to be more sustainable, to save water, and to conserve resources to help their bottom line.  I have been surprised to find that many people are not aware that collecting rainwater- even in a simple “rain barrel” system from your roof for use in watering a garden, is illegal in Colorado. 

Historical Precedent

I think the Colorado Division of Water Resources website summarizes well the historical precedent in layman’s terms:  “Colorado water law declares that the state of Colorado claims the right to all moisture in the atmosphere that falls within its borders and that ’said moisture is declared to be the property of the people of this state, dedicated to their use pursuant’ to the Colorado constitution.  As a result, in much of the state, it is illegal to divert rainwater falling on your property expressly for a certain use unless you have a very old water right or during occasional periods when there is a surplus of water in the river system.  This is especially true in the urban, suburban, and rural areas along the Front Range.  This system of water allocation plays an important role in protecting the owners of senior water rights that are entitled to appropriate the full amount of their decreed water right, particularly when there is not enough to satisfy them and parties whose water right is junior ro them.”

The New Laws

Senate Bill 09-080, which was passed by the general assembly and signed into law by the governor this summer, allows for limited collection and use of precipitation, but ONLY if the following conditions are met:

1. The property on which the collection takes place is residential property, and
2. The landowner uses a well, or is legally entitled to a well, for the water supply, and
3. The well is permitted for domestic uses according to section 37-92-602, C.R.S., and
4. There is no water supply available in the area from a municipality or water district, and
5. The rainwater is collected only from the roof, and
6. The water is used only for those uses that are allowed by, and identified on, the well permit.

ALL of the above criteria must be met.  That does not allow anyone who is connected to a municipal water supply (ie. most homeowners) to do this.  I don’t really understand the reasoning behind this law.  I have a hunch that they set out to create this law to allow the average residential homeowner to collect a limited mount of rainwater, but then in the negotiations the bill was paired down to its current form- and we ended up with a meaningless law that effects only a handful of people.

Regardless, there is a lot of confusion about this law that should be cleared up.  Many people I have talked to now believe they are allowed to collect rainwater when in fact they are not.  Soon after the law passed, Home Depot even began selling rain barrels in their Front Range stores (and they have over 10 different models to choose from on their website).  I have found the reaction of most people when they find out this is illegal is first surprise, and then usually a comment such as “well, I would probably do it anyway”, and “they would never know.”

If you are so inclined to install a rain barrel (do so at your own risk), here is a tutorial I discovered on how to make your own.  Another good alternative (and perfectly legal) is to create a bioswale in your landscape.

House Bill 09-1129 has the potential to make a much bigger impact.  This law allows for developers to apply for approval to be one of 10 statewide pilot projects that will capture rainwater for use in non-essential use in the subdivision.  The Sterling Ranch development, in Douglas County, was one of the early applicants for the program.  The developer hopes to save the development’s use of municipal water by 50%.  It will be interesting to see the results of these pilot projects, especially for those of us in the planning, design, and engineering community.

Related Posts:

• Are Gravel Roads Making a Comeback?
• Up to $25,000 Rebates Available through 2010 Aurora Xeriscape Program
• Developers turn to Uniquely Themed Communities in Difficult Housing Market
• The Top 10 Benefits of Making Landscaping More Water Efficient
• Scenes from a Colorado Garden – June 2010