Bob Blauvelt

Bob Blauvelt, Customer Service Field ManagerDenver Water (confirmed)

Whatever Denver Water's board enacts, its public relations staff "is going to have to try to make people understand that one blizzard doesn't end the drought," said Bob Blauvelt, customer service field manager for the utility.

Next month, 11 Front Range utilities will roll out a $600,000 joint advertising campaign to remind customers there's still a drought and they must do their part to ease it.

Denver Water put 25 enforcement officers on the street starting last week, an increase from just three during the winter, to look for customers wasting water.Last summer, there were 15.

Blauvelt said Denver Water's board will guide how lenient or strict the enforcement will be.

"If somebody has an attitude that they have the right to use as much water as they want to no matter what, they're probably going to get a ticket on the first visit," he said.

Whatever Denver Water's board enacts, its public relations staff "is going to have to try to make people understand that one blizzard doesn't end the drought," said Bob Blauvelt, customer service field manager for the utility.

Next month, 11 Front Range utilities will roll out a $600,000 joint advertising campaign to remind customers there's still a drought and they must do their part to ease it.

Denver Water put 25 enforcement officers on the street starting last week, an increase from just three during the winter, to look for customers wasting water.Last summer, there were 15.

Blauvelt said Denver Water's board will guide how lenient or strict the enforcement will be.

"If somebody has an attitude that they have the right to use as much water as they want to no matter what, they're probably going to get a ticket on the first visit," he said.

Bob Blauvelt, manager of customer service field operations at Denver Water, said his staff saw some homeowners violating the rules but most were adhering to the new guidelines, which took effect Monday.

"There were a lot of people who weren't aware of things, but most people were really trying.There's a lot of dry grass out there," Blauvelt said.

The water agency reported Monday that the ongoing drought is taking its toll on state reservoirs.Denver Water's reservoirs were below average going into the summer, standing at 77 percent full last month.The levels have continued to drop.