How much water do you and your Denver neighbors use? With the drought we are in, I have tried to be more efficient with my water use this summer by cutting back on watering as much as I can while still keeping my lawn a pale shade of green.
When I saw this map, I was kind of surprised. I expected my neighborhood of Berkeley to be one of the lower use neighborhoods in all of Denver. For the most part, the homes in Berkeley have average sized lots and you don't see a lot of grass. Many in the neighborhood have tried to conserve by xeriscaping and getting rid of lawns. So I was surprised to see that Berkeley is labeled a œwater addict which is topped only by œdrowning in how much a neighborhood uses.
It doesn't surprise me too much that areas like Hilltop, Wash Park, Cherry Hills Village and Greenwood Village are drowning. These neighborhoods are characterized by their huge yards with lush, green grass. Neighborhoods in the southwest metro area of Littleton and south Lakewood however are labeled œcameltastic. These neighborhoods have large yards as well but for whatever reason, use a fraction of the water that the œdrowning neighborhoods use.
The neighborhood that impressed me the most is Sunnyside. Sunnyside, which is known for nice yards and lots of urban gardens is œwater neutral. I figured with all the gardens in Sunnyside it would be a bigger user. This makes me think that the trend towards edible gardens and yards is the way to go. While this assumption certainly isn't scientific, at least with edible gardens and yards you use less water and have fresh produce to show for it.
For all the details on each neighborhood and tips on how to conserve, visit the Denver Water page by clicking here. And if you want to look more into edible gardens, then check out the company UpBeet Landscapes, click here. In a time when water is so valuable and scarce, it is sad to see our city is half drowning. Hopefully we can all work together to get much more in the cameltastic level in years to come.
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