The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Stage 2 closer than we want it to be…
by Mark Reaman
Water supply issues are expected to grow worse this summer as drought conditions persist in the valley. The Crested Butte town council voted Monday to authorize town manager Dara MacDonald to enact additional water restrictions on the use of municipal water in 2026 so long as the county remains in drought. Her decision does not need to be approved by council, but the board is expected to approve new, stricter fines for those found being out of compliance in the future.
Public works director Shea Earley presented the council with the current situation on Monday and while admittedly trying not to be a “Debbie Downer,” he conceded he was not optimistic about the state of the area’s water supply and possibility of wildfire this summer.
“Water is a big issue in the entire West with every entity I talk to,” he said at the June 15 meeting. “The town is actively trying to address the issue in multiple ways. But I have real concerns with the potential for wildfire near us this year and what it means for us.”
He said the town is working with other nearby governmental entities to keep alignment with water restriction issues. Earley said Crested Butte was looking at proposing three stages of restrictions. The first stage would be the normal water restrictions imposed every summer but with the addition that contractors would no longer be allowed to water new landscaping every day. Instead, they would have to adhere to the current every other day limitations.
He said Stage 2 restrictions are likely coming and would be triggered when “free river” conditions at Lake Irwin are over which he said in a normal year is around the end of June or in July. He emphasized that given the low snow winter, this was not a normal year. Another trigger is when water calls from the North Fork Valley begin diverting water from Lake Irwin thus restricting water in Coal Creek, the town’s primary drinking water source. The third trigger would be when the town shuts down the Irwin water supply to store water for potential emergency.
Under Stage 2 restrictions, property owners could irrigate lawns two days a week; outdoor water features like fountains would be prohibited; personal washing of vehicles would not be allowed and the commercial car wash at Ace Hardware would have limited hours; using water to clean impervious surfaces like driveways would be prohibited; irrigation of the parks would be reduced to two days a week; hydrant use would be prohibited except in case of a fire.
In Stage 3, severe drought conditions would be the trigger and no outdoor watering at all would be allowed; hot tubs could not be filled or even topped off; the commercial car wash would be closed; there would be no municipal alley watering or street sweeping.
“We are not yet in Stage 2,” Earley told the council. “Irwin is still good but that will change in the next couple of weeks. Stage 3 comes with a severe drought and fire potential. Everything would be prohibited except for essential operations. Hopefully we don’t get there.”
Council asked staff to not issue any more landscaping permits knowing the upcoming situation. The deposit fee refunds on a construction project would be adjusted to as to not penalize the landowners by withholding the entire deposit.
The design of an emergency temporary water supply line from the Slate River drainage to the town water treatment plant is underway as well in case the Coal Creek water supply becomes compromised, but no budget costs are yet determined. “In the next two weeks we should have good information on what the costs will be,” said Earley.
“It is good to be proactive on that,” said mayor Ian Billick.
As for fining those who do not comply with the restrictions, MacDonald said the town would take the issue very seriously and actively be looking to enforce the regulations and ultimately impose the fines if needed.
The staff proposed a $50 fine for someone’s second offense in Stage 1 restrictions. It would be $200 for a second offense if the town was in Stage 2 and $1,000 for a second offense in Stage 3. Staff will tweak the fine structure and bring it back to the council for approval.
Council agreed that the situation was not shaping up well for the summer and agreed to give MacDonald authority to implement the three stage proposal.
