Following record breaking rainfall totals, the Centennial Water Board voted to remove drought restrictions. However, water conservation continues to be key for long-term sustainability.

The Centennial Water and Sanitation District provides services to Highlands Ranch and Solstice, which have been in Stage 1 drought restrictions since July 20, 2022. 

The district went into drought restrictions due to the lack of water supply and three years of drought, according to Swithin Dick, water rights administrator for Centennial Water. 

For the first time since Sept. 2021, Douglas County is out of drought conditions according to the U.S. Drought Monitor released on May 16. Highlands Ranch alone received four to six inches of rain in May. 

“With the generous ample rains we got recently, that totally changed the situation with providing more water all over in the South Platte Basin,” said Dick. “That rain event one, soaked up the soils and two, provided more water in the river for everyone that it enabled us to say OK, we don’t have a concern about being able to supply the community.” 

The record rainfall has allowed the district to capture a record amount of water, filling the storage reservoirs to near capacity. 

According to Water Resources Manager William McLoud, the district takes water off the stream when it’s available and uses South Platte Reservoir, McLellan Reservoir and, for the first time, Chatfield Reservoir to store the water. This allows the district to space out the available water through the summer. 

Rainfall this spring demonstrated a milestone for the Chatfield Reservoir Reallocation Project, which began in 1994. 

The project received final approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in June 2020. The approval granted project participants - Centennial Water is one of eight - the right to store water in the reservoir. 

“We had the right to store it, we didn’t have those conditions where it’s wet enough that we could store it,” said McLoud. “It’s gotta get so wet that everybody on the stream has the water they need and then we could be storing our water.”

According to a Centennial Water press release, Centennial Water’s reservoirs are at 95% of total capacity, totaling 16,463 acre feet of water. One acre foot is equal to 325,851 gallons of water. 

Centennial Water gained an additional 6,922 acre feet of storage capacity, which will help the district decrease their dependence on deep nonrenewable groundwater. 

Still, Centennial Water encourages residents to turn off irrigation systems momentarily as the ground is saturated. 

“Of course everybody’s lawn in Highlands Ranch has gotten a good long drink, and shouldn’t need any supplemental irrigation until at least June,” said Dick. 

As part of the district's standard conservation rules, Centennial Water’s outdoor watering rules are in effect until Sept. 30. 

Customers are encouraged to limit outdoor watering to two days per week, a third day is only necessary during extreme heat or lengthy dry periods. Outdoor irrigation is not allowed from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., hand watering trees and shrubs is allowed any time if hose is held or using a watering can, irrigation using water conserving methods are allowed at any time, and washing cars are allowed any time as long as a hose end shut-off device is used. 

The rules also include avoiding wasteful watering practices such as allowing excess water to flow into the street and neglecting to repair leaks are prohibited. 

“The purpose of the conservation measures is to minimize the times we have to go into drought restrictions and really impact people,” said Dick.