{"id":35737,"date":"2023-02-16T09:42:30","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T16:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/water-conservation-remains-a-huge-concern-in-the-west-annual-colorado-college-poll-shows\/"},"modified":"2023-02-16T16:42:30","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T16:42:30","slug":"water-conservation-remains-a-huge-concern-in-the-west-annual-colorado-college-poll-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/water-conservation-remains-a-huge-concern-in-the-west-annual-colorado-college-poll-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Water conservation remains a huge concern in the West, annual Colorado College poll shows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Clouds
Clouds form on a cold day Jan. 25, 2023, above the Eleven Mile Reservoir near Hartsel. (Hugh Carey\/The Colorado Sun)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It\u2019s no surprise Westerners are worried about water shortages right now. But you might be surprised to hear how willing they are to take action, even in their own front yard.<\/p>\n

The 2023 Conservation in the West Poll<\/a>, the 13th conducted by the State of the Rockies project at Colorado College, found that attitudes around conservation in the region haven\u2019t changed much over the past decade \u2013 although Westerners have become more concerned about water shortages over the past several years, polling showed. What\u2019s more, respondents demonstrated a high level of support for a wide range of policies supporting efficient water use, infrastructure and recycling initiatives.<\/p>\n

According to the results of the poll, released Wednesday, 86% of respondents said the Colorado River was vital to their states\u2019 economies. Ninety-six percent of respondents were concerned about current water shortages in the West, and 50% said the shortages represented a serious crisis.<\/p>\n

The poll surveyed the attitudes of over 3,400 residents of Colorado and eight other western states. In Colorado, 87% of respondents were concerned about water shortages, and 81% supported financial incentives for replacing high-water-use landscaping with water-conserving landscaping.<\/p>\n

Greg Fisher, manager of demand planning at Denver Water, said that the polling results are just what he would\u2019ve expected. Per-person water use has been declining for years, he said, and total water use in the utility\u2019s service area is around the same level it was at in the early 1970s. Coloradans have generally been conservation-minded for decades. Nowadays, a good snow year may temporarily ease worries about drought, Fisher said, but Coloradans are well aware of the long-term reality of the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re really paying attention and understanding which way we\u2019re headed in terms of water availability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Concern about water conservation has risen substantially since 2011, when 75% of respondents in all states said water supply shortages were a serious problem, according to the poll. Now, that figure has risen to 86%, down slightly from 89% in 2022.<\/p>\n

Aurora Water spokesman Greg Baker said he was glad to see a sustained rise in awareness among Coloradans about the water crisis. He said he\u2019s hopeful people will continue to address the issue with the urgency it warrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are paying attention, and they\u2019re taking action, which is even better,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to say, \u2018Yes, I believe in this.\u2019 It\u2019s another thing to say, \u2018Yes, I believe in this, and I want to do something about it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Aurora Water\u2019s efforts to conserve water<\/a> have enjoyed a significant boost in popularity. For example, Baker said, applications have about tripled for its Grass Replacement Incentive Program, which provides financial compensation to residents who wish to transition their lawn to a xeriscape using plants that require no irrigation. It\u2019s just one way people are making their support for water conservation known.<\/p>\n

Part of the rise in awareness may be generational, Baker said, as millennials and Gen Z begin to take more interest in issues that will directly affect their future. He hopes this boost in investment is sustained, and public approval for water conservation doesn\u2019t subside in the future.<\/p>\n

Sufficient awareness of the issue is a good foundation, Fisher said, but what Colorado really needs next is action. As the climate continues to change, the public can contribute to efficient water use by adopting practices such as low-water landscaping. Many seem willing to pitch in, he said, and the state should take advantage of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe obviously need to do more right now,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cFrom what I\u2019ve seen, our customers are ready. What we need to do is help them go do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

of the Rockies project\u2019s 13th annual poll found that Coloradans and other western states are still on high alert about water shortages \u2013 and willing to act<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1462,529,28,295],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-35737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-river","tag-conservation","tag-headlines","tag-water"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35737"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=35737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}