Outdoor watering in Denver is getting a serious trim this summer after the Denver Water Board declared a Stage 1 drought late last month. The move caps grass irrigation at two assigned days per week, bars watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and adds a temporary price signal aimed squarely at heavy outdoor users. Utility officials say the goal is to protect drinking-water supplies for about 1.5 million customers while mountain snowpack and reservoir storage sit well below historic norms.
Why the board acted
The board pointed to anemic mountain snowpack and lagging reservoir levels as the trigger for the Stage 1 call. According to Denver Water, the utility’s reservoirs were at roughly 80% of capacity on March 19, and snowpack measured about 53% of normal in the South Platte basin and 69% of normal in the Colorado basin on that date. When the board adopted the Stage 1 declaration on March 25, 2026, it set a clear target: cut total system demand by about 20%.
Drought pricing and what you'll pay
To push customers toward shorter run times and fewer green carpets, the board signed off on temporary drought pricing that adds surcharges to higher-volume outdoor use. “Implementing temporary drought pricing is not a step we take lightly,” Denver Water said in announcing the plan. Under the structure, Tier 2 outdoor water use carries an additional $1.10 per 1,000 gallons, and Tier 3 use tacks on $2.20 per 1,000 gallons. Those charges apply to May water use and will first show up on June bills, according to the utility.
How the rules will change your watering
For single-family homes, the new rules mean two assigned watering days per week, period. Multifamily properties and commercial customers are generally limited to Tuesdays and Fridays, as reported by the Denver Gazette. Officials are also asking residents to hold off on firing up automatic sprinkler systems until at least mid- to late May, both to keep landscapes dormant a bit longer and to give reservoirs a boost from late-season snowmelt.
Trees, shrubs, and vegetable gardens can still be hand-watered any day, as long as it is outside the 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. window. Automatic systems, however, need to be reprogrammed so they follow the two-day schedule and time-of-day limits laid out under Stage 1.
Enforcement and local impacts
Officials say they will start with warnings and then escalate to fines as the irrigation season gets going. Denver7 reported that enforcement could move from an initial warning to about $250 for a second violation and roughly $500 for a third. Many suburbs and distributor districts are lining up their own rules with Denver Water’s Stage 1 limits, which means the two-day schedule will shape lawns and landscaping across much of the metro area.
Legal note for homeowners
Colorado law puts a guardrail around what homeowner associations can demand when official water restrictions are in place. A unit owner cannot be required to water in violation of a government-issued restriction, under Colorado Revised Statutes § 37‑60‑126. If you are unsure how the drought rules interact with your HOA covenants or you need help cutting outdoor use, officials recommend contacting your distributor or local government for guidance and checking for existing rebate programs that can help pay for irrigation upgrades.
