All outdoor water use must cease immediately.
The Eagle River Water & Sanitation District and Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority have issued a Water Supply Emergency for their entire service area, from East Vail through Cordillera, due to a potential extended power outage associated with the Red Canyon Fire.
All non-essential water use should be stopped until further notice. Outdoor water use is prohibited and indoor water use should be strictly limited. Water quality is unaffected.
A long-term power outage means that the district and authority could lose the ability to pump water to tanks, especially in mountainous neighborhoods such as Cordillera, Mountain Star, Bachelor Gulch, and Beaver Creek. All customers connected to the public water supply from East Vail through Cordillera, including residential, commercial, and industrial, should limit water use to preserve water currently in the system (storage tanks and distribution pipes) so it is available for essential purposes like drinking and fire protection.
General Manager Linn Brooks said, “The district appreciates the community’s support in limiting water use during this emergency.” Any home or business with an automatic irrigation system must turn it off until further notice. The district’s outdoor water use regulations prohibit outdoor water use on Mondays, so all irrigation systems should already be programmed to be off on Monday. If your irrigation system is not programmed, it should be shut down until further notice.
Outdoor irrigation requires far more water than indoor uses, so turning irrigation systems off is particularly critical for protecting drinking water and fire flow supplies. Also, all special irrigation permits are revoked immediately until further notice.
Residents of Minturn, Lake Creek Metropolitan District, Red Sky Ranch, and western Eagle County are on separate water supply systems and are not affected by this emergency.
Contact: Customer Service, 970-476-7480
