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A water bill that makes sense

EDITORIAL

Finally, the Legislature is showing signs of water sanity. Monday, the state House of Representatives passed a bill on a 37-28 vote outlawing homeowner association covenants that prohibit drought-tolerant landscaping.Imagine, living in the Arid West as we do, that this would be an issue. But it was for the last two years, and it still could be in the state Senate.The bill is a reaction to Front Range homeowners associations going to court against residents who did the right thing and put in Xeriscaping or other drought-tolerant designs.Drought-tolerant landscaping is a misnomer for the climate. The proper terminology would be climate-appropriate landscaping.In truth, it means using plantlife that can survive in a High Plains desert environment with little to no irrigation. The bill also encourages state facilities to water during cooler periods of the day – before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. – to reduce evaporation, unless such watering is subsurface or drip irrigation. HB 1070, sponsored by state Rep. Paul Weissmann (D-Louisville), heads for the Senate where it is being co-sponsored by state Sen. Dan Grossman (D-Denver). Grossman has Summit County connections and knows how important this is to the Western Slope. “Even with an above-average snowpack, we need to move forward with this. I’m very pleased this finally passed out of the House,” Weissmann said.He’s right. The drought will someday end, but growth will gobble up the available water, forcing a drought caused by demand. Measures such as these help dent the demand for water.We on the Western Slope must cheer on water sanity on the Front Range. It’s our water the Front Range is after to feed growth and bail out Douglas County where wells are dropping from regional overuse of the aquifer.


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