Consolidated Water: No sprinklers after Sept. 30
Effective Oct. 1, no sprinkler use is permitted by Consolidated Mutual Water, and sprinklers need to remain off in spring 2027 until the Consolidated board determines how and when irrigation may resume. Through Sept. 30, customers are still required to follow current drought restrictions, which limit watering to two assigned days per week.
Consolidated services roughly 60 percent of its 100,000 customers through a permanent lease with Denver Water. As a partnering distributor, Consolidated’s drought plan includes enacting drought policies at least as restrictive as those implemented by Denver Water, whose board of water commissioners prohibited lawn watering starting Oct. 1. Denver Water’s and Consolidated’s collection and service areas continue to face severe drought conditions, with historically high temperatures, low streamflows, and reservoir storage far below normal. Denver Water staff predict storage could drop to 60 percent before the 2027 runoff season.
Denver Water and Consolidated outline the kind of watering still permitted after the shutdown date:
Trees, shrubs and perennials may be watered any day with a hand-held hose with a shutoff nozzle or low-volume, non-spray irrigation (such as a drip system). They may not be watered by spray irrigation.
Annuals and vegetables may be watered any day with a hand-held hose with a shutoff nozzle or low-volume, non-spray irrigation, until the first frost. They may not be watered by spray irrigation.
Grass establishment is not allowed after Sept. 30.
An irrigation system may be operated for installation, repair or reasonable maintenance, so long as the system is attended throughout the period of operation and water waste does not occur.
High-traffic, active-use grass areas, such as parks and school fields, may only be watered after Sept. 30, under a Denver Water-approved water budget or variance. Additionally, recycled water users can continue to irrigate any day of the week, following the standard watering rules, as they are relying on reused water supply.
You can find more information about Consolidated Mutual Water’s current drought restrictions here.
To conserve water indoors, only run your washing machine and dishwasher when you have a full load, replace appliances with energy-efficient models, install low-flow water fixtures, and cut showers from 10 minutes to 5 minutes to save 25 gallons.
Lawn watering and all spray irrigation must stop after Sept. 30, 2026, as part of an amendment to the Stage 1 drought declaration originally approved March 25. Trees, plants and gardens may be watered any day by hand if needed. Photo credit: Denver Water.