The Denver Board of Water Commissioners voted unanimously on April 8, 2026 to activate temporary drought pricing on outdoor water use — the first time this tool has been used since the historic 2002–04 drought. The surcharges take effect with May water use and will appear on June bills.
The timing matters: Denver Water declared Stage 1 drought restrictions on March 25, the worst Colorado snowpack since records began. These surcharges are the second layer of that response — restrictions control when you water, pricing controls how much. Both run through April 30, 2027 unless the board takes further action.
How Denver Water’s Tier System Works
The surcharge is layered on top of existing 2026 rates and applies only to outdoor use (Tiers 2 and 3). Tier 1, covering essential indoor use (drinking, cooking, bathing, laundry), is fully exempt — customers who do little or no outdoor watering see no bill increase at all.
| Tier | What it covers | Extra charge |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Indoor essentials — up to your average winter consumption | None — exempt |
| Tier 2 | Above your winter average, up to 15,000 gal/month | +$1.10 per 1,000 gal |
| Tier 3 | Above 15,000 gal/month — potentially excessive outdoor use | +$2.20 per 1,000 gal |
The Tier 1 baseline is set individually for each customer — Denver Water uses their January–March usage (when there is almost no outdoor watering) as the indoor-use benchmark. This means the surcharge targets only the extra water used for lawns and landscapes.
What Will This Actually Cost?
These are Denver Water’s own published estimates for the 2026 outdoor season.
| Household type | Season extra cost | Total annual bill |
|---|---|---|
| Super conserver (hand waters trees only, no sprinklers) | +$7 | ~$435 (Denver) / ~$515 (suburban) |
| Average non-conserver (normal past use, no 20% cut) | +$45–$52 | ~$480–$567 |
| High user — city of Denver | +$76 | ~$879 |
| High user — suburban Denver Water customer | +$76 | ~$1,126 |
A household that adds just 8,000 extra gallons above their winter average over the season pays roughly $8.80 in surcharges — that’s one short sprinkler session above the allowance. The math shifts quickly: a mid-sized sprinkler system running a single zone can consume more than 1,000 gallons per hour.
How Your Winter Bill Sets Your Tier
Denver Water calculates each customer’s Tier 1 baseline from their actual January, February, and March usage — those months when almost nobody waters outdoors. The lower your winter water use, the lower your Tier 1 allowance — meaning the earlier you hit Tier 2 in summer.
A household of 4 using 3,500 gallons/month in winter hits Tier 2 as soon as outdoor summer use pushes them above 3,500 gal/month. To find your winter average: pull your December–March bills from denverwater.org or your online account portal.
Note: The $3.02 per 1,000 gallons base Tier 1 rate and the $20.91 fixed monthly service charge are unchanged by drought pricing — those increases were set last fall and apply regardless of conservation level.
How to Stay in Tier 1 (No Surcharge)
- Keep sprinklers OFF until mid-to-late May.Denver Water’s own guidance: April irrigation is premature on dormant lawns — you’re watering soil, not grass roots. Every gallon used before lawns green up counts toward your Tier 2 threshold.
- Follow the 2-day-per-week schedule exactly. Even addresses water Sunday and Thursday; odd addresses water Wednesday and Saturday. Running a single extra cycle is a direct route to Tier 2. Program your controller to disable all other days permanently.
- Water deeply, not frequently. ½ inch per watering session goes further than 3 shallow cycles. Use the tuna can test: place empty cans on the lawn; stop when they hold ½ inch. Most zones need 15–25 minutes per session.
- Cycle and soak on Colorado’s clay soil. Run each zone for 5–7 minutes, pause 20 minutes, repeat. Clay sheds water when dry; cycling absorbs 30–40% more per gallon than one continuous run — you reach the same crown-saving depth with less water.
- Request a free Slow the Flow audit. Denver Water provides free sprinkler system check-ups to identify broken heads, over-spray, and inefficient nozzles. Customers who fix leaks and overspray consistently use 20–30% less water with no change to lawn health.
- Track your usage in real time.Denver Water’s customer portal and the EyeOnWater app show your daily usage so you can see when you’re approaching the Tier 2 threshold and adjust before the month closes.
How Other Front Range Cities Are Handling Pricing
Castle Rockis taking a different approach because its water system already runs on water budgets — every customer is allocated a seasonal outdoor allowance based on home and lot size. In 2026, Castle Rock is reducing everyone’s budget downward, then adding surcharges for customers who exceed their reduced allocation. A small home that barely uses its budget sees little to no impact; a large-lot customer on a heavy irrigation system faces stacked pressure from both the smaller budget and the overage charge.
Colorado Springshas permanent year-round three-day-per-week watering rules and will not add drought surcharges this season. Its drought plan only triggers surcharges when reservoir storage falls below 1.5 years of supply as of April 1 — a threshold it hasn’t crossed in 2026. Springs customers face the same watering-day restrictions but no extra pricing.
Highlands Ranch and similar suburbsthat draw from the South Platte Basin have implemented tiered rate increases on their own billing structures. The specifics vary by district — check your utility’s customer portal to see whether outdoor budget allocations or tier pricing changes apply to your address if you are not a direct Denver Water customer.
When the Pricing Starts, When It Ends
- Pricing activates: May 1, 2026 — surcharges begin on May water use.
- First bill impact: June 2026 — your June statement is the first to show the drought charge line item.
- End date: April 30, 2027 — unless the Denver Water Board votes to extend or remove it earlier based on reservoir recovery.
- Stage 1 restrictions (2 days/week) run concurrently through the same end date. Pricing and restrictions are separate — complying with the watering schedule does not automatically keep you in Tier 1 if you water heavily on your allowed days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does drought pricing apply to everyone in Denver?
Drought pricing applies to all Denver Water customers — both inside the city of Denver and in the portions of Aurora, Thornton, Arvada, Westminster, Lakewood, Centennial, and Littleton served by Denver Water. If your water bill comes from Denver Water, the surcharge applies. If you are on a separate utility such as Aurora Water or Colorado Springs Utilities, check your local utility for their own pricing structure.
If I already follow Stage 1 restrictions, will I still pay a surcharge?
Not necessarily. The two-day-per-week schedule limits when you water, but not how much you use on those days. If you water deeply and efficiently on your two allowed days, you may stay within Tier 1 and pay no surcharge. If you water heavily on both days, you can still push into Tier 2 or Tier 3 and trigger the extra charge.
Can my HOA fine me for letting my lawn go brown?
No. Colorado HB 21-1229 explicitly prohibits HOAs from requiring water-intensive landscaping like Kentucky Bluegrass or from penalizing homeowners for dormant, drought-tolerant, or xeriscape landscaping — even outside of declared drought periods. During an active Stage 1 restriction, Denver Water has publicly stated that brown lawns are expected and acceptable. Keep a copy of the restriction order if your HOA contacts you.
Is there any way to permanently reduce my bill rather than just conserve this season?
Yes — Denver Water offers rebates for converting lawn areas to xeriscape (up to $2,500 for front lawns under 500 sq ft), installing smart irrigation controllers, and replacing spray nozzles with high-efficiency rotators. Turf removal is the most impactful: a 500 sq ft grass strip converted to mulch and native plants eliminates roughly 15,000 gallons of seasonal irrigation demand — enough to keep a large-lot customer in Tier 1 all season.
Will drought pricing continue in 2027?
The current order runs through April 30, 2027. Whether it continues depends on snowpack recovery in the 2026–27 winter. Denver Water CEO Alan Salazar has said the agency's main fear is that if reservoirs are drawn down too far and normal snowfall doesn't arrive next winter, more restrictive measures may be required in 2027 — which could mean pricing at even higher tiers. Customers who reduce use now preserve storage cushion that benefits everyone.
Denver Water hasn’t activated drought pricing since 2002–04 — this is genuinely new territory for most Front Range homeowners. The surcharges aren’t punitive; they’re designed to cost the most efficient conservers almost nothing while sending a clear financial signal to the highest users. The fastest path to avoiding them entirely is simple: keep the sprinklers off until late May, follow the two-day schedule precisely, and water deeply when you do water. Your lawn will survive — and so will your bill.