Grand County: Colorado: Grand County’s Drought Preparedness Committee, a subgroup of community members from all local towns and jurisdictions, water providers, fire officials, and watershed experts met on September 3, 2020. During their monthly Drought Evaluation Meeting, the Committee discussed current water conditions throughout the County.
After a review of drought indicators, the committee agreed unanimously that Grand County should move from the Drought Watch stage declared in late June to a Stage One drought declaration.
Two thirds of the county are in “extreme drought” and the remaining third is in “severe drought” according to the United States Drought Monitor. Precipitation was only 30% of average in August, and only slightly better in July. These conditions paired with region-wide fire bans indicate the need for local residents, businesses, agriculture, and visitors to use less water.
With this in mind, the Committee encourages the Grand County community and its visitors to do the following during this stage of drought:
- Use only what you need;
- Water lawn no more than two days per week from 6 p.m. - 10 a.m.;
- Encourage visitors in Hotels and Lodging to change linens only by request;
- Ask local restaurants to serve water only by request;
- Don’t refill pools, hot tubs, or water features.
For more information or media inquiries, please contact the Grand County Drought Preparedness Network at jlyons@co.grand.co.us or visit co.grand.co.us/drought for media toolkit information.