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Residents urge water emergency declaration; city schedules detailed water readiness workshop
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Summary
Multiple public commenters urged Lafayette to declare a water emergency and stop high‑water landscaping amid what some called the worst drought on record. City staff said reservoirs are currently average, urged voluntary conservation, and scheduled a water readiness workshop and follow‑up reporting to council.
A string of public commenters told the City Council on April 7 that drought conditions and very low snowpack nationwide warrant an emergency water response by Lafayette officials.
Lede: Concerned residents called on council to declare a water emergency, pause publicly funded planting/irrigation programs for the year, and publish a transparent water dashboard showing snowpack and reservoir status.
What residents said: "This is a water crisis…we are living in that," Mike Watson told council, saying Colorado is in an "exceptional year" and urging an emergency declaration and public dashboard so residents could see levels and respond. Ron Spalding and other speakers echoed broad regional alarm and asked council to take visible steps.
City response and next steps: City staff told council reservoirs remain around average and noted Lafayette holds senior water rights that should help deliveries this season. The city said it will likely implement Stage 1 (voluntary) conservation measures immediately and urged residents to "delay turning on irrigation systems until May" and to hand‑water newly planted trees. Staff scheduled a more detailed water‑readiness presentation and workshop for April 28 to outline triggers, potential mandatory restrictions and conservation tools.
Ending: Council did not declare an emergency at the meeting but ordered staff to return with detailed monitoring, communications (including the proposed dashboard), and a clear list of actions the council could take if reservoir conditions worsen.
