Fraser board directs staff to draft drought restrictions and consider drought pricing, to align with valley districts

Fraser — The Fraser Board of Trustees on May 20 instructed staff to draft a water conservation resolution that would align the town’s outdoor watering restrictions with nearby districts and set a framework for drought pricing and enforcement.

Staff described ongoing work on augmentation and permitting and recommended matching Grand County Number One’s outdoor watering schedule (two days per week with specified hours) while considering restrictions on bulk water purchases. "The thought was to match Grand County number one restrictions and then look to maybe depending on how the summer goes, restrict bulk water purchases as well," a town staff member said.

Trustees discussed options that pair restrictions with financial incentives. Adam Quickman, a trustee, and other board members emphasized that drought pricing and tiered rates are effective behavior-change tools but must be paired with education and clear automatic triggers for turning the pricing off. The board asked staff to draft a resolution for the June 3 meeting that includes irrigation dates based on water rights, a notification plan for customers, and a mechanism to turn off drought pricing when conditions improve.

Staff also noted smart-meter rollout across the town will improve real-time monitoring and enforcement next year; once meters are fully implemented, residents will be able to see near-real-time use and the utility can flag anomalies. The board discussed the administrative detail of starting a drought pricing period and preferred an approach with both a date-based sunset and a stage-trigger (for example, returning to county Stage 2) so the town is not left with an open-ended surcharge.

The board did not adopt a final rule at the meeting but asked staff to return with a draft resolution spelling out irrigation windows, tiered drought pricing triggers and enforcement language for consideration at the next meeting.