Amber Martinez used to have picnics in city parks with family and friends all the time, but this summer is a different story. After the city cut deep into the park department’s budget, brown patches and weeds are already beginning to take over many of the city’s parks.

“They are more dirt than grass now,” said Martinez as she watched her two daughters play at Boulder Park on a recent afternoon. “The kids need somewhere to go.”  

Martinez said she won’t visit the parks as much as she used to because they are so neglected.  

In an effort to help the city keep at least some parks green, Colorado Springs Utilities began a water conservation program in late April that includes a new water price structure and irrigation improvements in the city’s parks. The first improvements were made to Boulder Park in May.  

Now, more than a month later, the city is seeing water savings and plans are underway to begin work on two more parks by the end of the month. The weekend’s rain also provided a helpful boost to the thirsty grass.

“We’re in catch-up mode, and the rain helps us catch up,” said Kurt Schroeder, parks, trails and open space manager for the city’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department .  “We need every drop of it we can get.”  

Utilities’ $500,000, two-year conservation project will encourage more efficient water use by the city, said Eric Becker, an irrigation specialist with Utilities.

Under the new rate structure, Utilities determines an ideal amount of water that each park should receive each month.  The monthly amounts add up to 24 inches per year per acre, which is how much water turf grass needs to stay green during the spring and summer. If the city consistently uses less than the ideal monthly amount of water, the city receives a discounted water rate that allows it to water 15 inches per year rather than the 11 inches that the city can afford, said Ann Seymour a water conservation manager with Utilities.  

In other words, under the new conservation rate, the city gets the same amount of water for 24 percent less if it meets the conservation goals, Schroeder said.  

Despite the new rate, browner parks are still going to be a reality this summer.  Although the city will be able to give parks four more inches of water, the number is still well below what is needed to keep the grass green.

Meanwhile, Utilities began work at Boulder Park on May 14, replacing more than 200 old and inefficient sprinkler heads with the most efficient versions available.  

“The goal is that every drop of water that lands on the ground can be utilized,” Seymour said.

Grant Park and Madison Park are next on the list to receive improvements, including new sprinkler heads, pipes and irrigation control clocks.  Both parks have sprinkler systems that are more than 30 years old and don’t distribute  water evenly or effectively, Seymour said.

Throughout the program, Utilities will work with the parks and recreation department to prioritize parks with the highest need among the 111 that are under the rate plan. The city has about 150 parks.

After Utilities said in February that it legally can’t give the city free or discounted water, the new program is a way for Utilities to give the city a financial break while spreading the message of conservation, Schroeder said.  

“I think the conservation program has a lot of merit,” he said. “Water is a precious resource that we need to manage as best we can.” —Contact the writer at 636-0187.

Mike and Sheila Kargle watch as their daughters Kearra, 9, and Mykaela, 11, point to squirrels wrestling in the trees Monday, June 14, 2010 at Boulder Park. Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) began a water conservation program on May 14, including updated sprinkler heads and new rates for water at the park. CSU plans on implementing the same measures in Madison Park and Grant Park by the end of the month. Anthony Souffle, The Gazette Photo by ANTHONY SOUFFLE, THE GAZETTE

ANTHONY SOUFFLE