Aurora nudges restaurants to quit automatically serving water as part of effort to count ‘every single drop’

The next time you venture into a restaurant in Aurora and aren t greeted by a tall glass of icy water upon sitting down don t overturn the table or rip up the check in anger Just ask for one This week the Aurora City Council passed a resolution encouraging restaurants in the city to save water by serving water upon customer request rather than as a de facto courtesy Councilwoman Stephanie Hancock who sponsored the measure concedes that comparatively little water will be conserved through such a move But by altering the process behind something as habitual as visiting an eatery she commented the voluntary restriction could have an outsized impact on people s attitudes toward saving water Small visible actions help remind everyone that water is precious and that conservation is a shared responsibility she declared When people notice these habits in inhabitants they re more likely to carry mindful use into their homes and businesses Conditions change is warming and drying Colorado and the Western U S which in the last few days emerged from a super-drought that stretched from to Historically such a dry period happened less than once every years But according to research published last year that level of dessication could occur once every six years by the end of the century if emissions from human activity aren t curbed Aurora s resolution passed Monday as one of the last actions taken by the current council before several newly elected members are sworn in will be voluntary during normal water availability conditions as is the situation now The recommendation becomes mandatory when the city enters drought conditions Restaurants already juggle tight margins and lots of rules so we craved a way to aid conservation without adding extra pressure Hancock announced By recommending rather than requiring it we encourage collaboration It still raises awareness but lets each restaurant adapt it in a way that fits their operations Over time as customers get used to asking for water largest part places find it becomes the norm naturally That s an approach lauded by the Colorado Restaurant Association which represents an industry that has suffered numerous closures in the wake of the pandemic We appreciate that Aurora City Council didn t make this measure a mandate for local businesses since not every restaurant operates under the same model and customers dine out with individual expectations and requirements revealed Denise Mickelsen a spokeswoman for the transaction group The restaurants that comply with this order will need to educate their customers and realign expectations for water operation Aurora s move isn t unique A decade ago then-California Gov Jerry Brown urged restaurants to refrain from serving unrequested glasses of water as part of an executive order that aimed to slash water use in the state by Hawaii s Oahu the island that s home to state capital Honolulu has barred the practices of providing automatic glasses of water in restaurants since In Colorado restaurants in Steamboat Springs stopped serving automatic glasses of water during a severe statewide drought in In mid-August Frisco mandated that restaurants in town do so when the flow in North Ten Mile Creek slowed dramatically The requirement was lifted last month after creek flows returned to healthier levels We want water users to be intentional and think about whether someone will veritably drink the water set down in front of them or if it will just be poured down the drain eventually Frisco Water Superintendent Ryan Thompson noted Servers he announced may feel hesitant about not automatically plunking water down in front of a customer for fear of receiving a reduced tip But he announced the town wants to be a part of reframing good operation as only getting the water that you questioned for Particular restaurants in Denver and elsewhere have shifted on their own adopting the by-request practice Shonnie Cline a spokeswoman with Aurora Water mentioned Aurora s restrictions on water arrangement at restaurants become mandatory when the city is in one of three stages of drought which means the amount of available water in storage dips below acre-feet Related Articles Demise of historic Jefferson County ranch means long-term protection for a critical Arvada water source Amid a transparency desert states look likely to blow past Colorado River deadline What s next Western Colorado is at the epicenter of drought as a hot dry summer saps water supplies and fuels wildfires The city has the ceiling to store acre-feet of water across its multiple reservoirs during normal times Cline noted But a dry winter and a meager snowpack can change all that the city last imposed drought restrictions in Then small measures like curtailing water amenity at restaurants become one of the more visible tools in the larger effort to conserve water Making a message stick with people who are hit with a thousand messages is key she announced To get people thinking about how every single drop demands to be counted the littlest things do matter in the long run Cline disclosed she hoped to never see Aurora reach Stage drought conditions the bulk severe designation for the city of which would happen if storage began to dip below acre-feet That s when all water consumption in the city would be restricted to indoor use only God help us if we get to Stage she mentioned At that point we have reached all things catastrophic Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter