In Aspen, where roughly 60% of treated water is used outdoors, landscaping rules go well beyond restricting turf. The city’s Water Efficient Landscaping Standards require qualifying new construction and renovation projects to design landscapes around a maximum outdoor water budget.
Developers and property owners must account for irrigation design, plant selection, soil health, and projected long-term water demand. Landscape and irrigation plans are submitted for review, and completed systems require an audit to confirm that what was installed can perform as designed.
But Aspen also recognized a critical weakness in regulation: a strong code cannot conserve water if the local workforce lacks the training to implement it.
The city brought the Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper program to the Roaring Fork Valley, providing more than 20 hours of instruction in soils, climate-appropriate plants, irrigation design, system maintenance, scheduling, controllers, and water auditing. Graduates can conduct the third-party irrigation audits required by Aspen’s standards.
With support from WaterNow, more than 100 landscaping professionals across Colorado have completed the training—helping close the gap between policy written at City Hall and landscapes built on the ground.
This video is part of Resilience In The Rockies, a series in collaboration with WaterNow.
Thanks to lead sponsors PCL Construction, Norris Design, and the City of Greeley.
waterloop is a nonprofit news outlet exploring solutions for water sustainability. Visit https://www.waterloop.org/
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