Trinidad moves to Stage III water restrictions amid severe drought

Trinidad will move into Stage III water restrictions on July 1, cutting outdoor watering to narrow early-morning windows and closing off uses that city leaders say can no longer be sustained as drought deepens. Under the new rules, no one may water on Mondays. Homes with even-numbered addresses may water only on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from 6 to 10 a.m., while odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays during the same hours.

The Stage III order also stops new rural extra-territorial water taps, limits vehicle washing unless a shutoff nozzle or bucket is used, and requires residents to keep runoff off streets and sidewalks. Fountains and ponds will stay empty unless water is needed to sustain aquatic life, and the splash pad at Cimino Park will shut down because it requires a continuous flow of water. The Trinidad Community Center pool will remain open because it is already filled and takes relatively little additional water to maintain.

Before the switch, Trinidad was under Level 2 rules and the older 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. watering window. Trinidad’s 2021 resolution established three restriction levels based on drought severity and water scarcity, and it authorized the Water Utility Director, with approval from the City Manager, to adjust the severity when water shortages or conservation needs require it.

Trinidad’s water system depends on North Lake as its primary source and Monument Lake as its secondary source. Treated water is carried to the Water Treatment Plant about 40 miles west of Trinidad, then pushed through a distribution network that includes more than 100 miles of pipe serving the city and a substantial part of the developed rural area outside city limits. The Water Storage Tank Rehabilitation Project calls for rehabilitation of three potable water steel storage tanks and construction of one new bolted steel tank with a 25,000-gallon volume.

Gov. Jared Polis activated Phase 3 of Colorado’s Drought Response Plan and declared a statewide drought emergency on June 4, citing record-low snowpack and prolonged warm temperatures. State drought data put nearly 93% of Colorado in moderate to exceptional drought.