The city is in a Drought Watch and is asking for voluntary reductions in water use.

Current Drought Status: Drought Watch

Due to record hot and dry weather, the city entered a Drought Watch on April 1 and is asking for voluntary reductions in water use throughout the summer. Drought Watch means we are encouraging voluntary water conservation. Sustained water conservation throughout the summer can help preserve our community’s water supply if dry conditions continue into next year.

May 1 Update

Every year, the City of Boulder evaluates its current water supply conditions to determine if a specific drought response is needed. As of May 1, 2026, we will remain in Drought Watch. We have enough water supply in reservoir storage to avoid triggering mandatory water use restrictions, but are encouraging community members to conserve given hot and dry conditions. Learn more about the city’s source water supply.

Check back on this webpage for updates on the city’s current drought status.

What are the Rules and What are the Recommendations?

There are rules that city water customers need to follow, regardless of drought conditions, to prevent water waste.

Under Drought Watch, we also have water conservation recommendations for the community.

Detailed rules can also be found in Boulder Municipal Code 11-1-25.5.

Rules to Prevent Water Waste

Run sprinklers only before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m., from May 1 through September.

  1. Specific exceptions apply, including:
    • Hand watering of trees, shrubs, or plants with a hose that includes a shut-off nozzle.
    • Watering through low-volume, drip, or sub-surface irrigation systems.
    • Watering of new plant material for thirty (30) days following initial installation.
    • Watering of areas for urban agriculture and food production.
    • Watering of functional turf on sports fields.
    • Operating and attending to an irrigation system as needed for installation, repair, or reasonable maintenance.
    • Watering with ditch or well water.
    • Lots or parcels greater than five acres in size with pressure issues in the sprinkler system on such property, where such pressure issues have been demonstrated to the city manager’s satisfaction.

    Learn more in the Landscape Manual.

Do not allow sprinklers to spray water onto the sidewalk or street.

Do not use a hose for washing equipment without a shutoff nozzle.

Use a shutoff nozzle if washing impervious surfaces, such as asphalt, concrete and patios.

Promptly fix leaks inside and outside, including broken sprinkler heads.

Drought Watch Watering Recommendations

Limit watering of grass to 2 times per week

Run sprinkler systems for non-functional turf no more than 2 times per week, according to the schedule below. 

Recommended Watering Schedule

Customer Type

Watering Days

Single Family Residential: even-numbered addresses

Sunday and Thursday

Single Family Residential: odd-numbered addresses

Wednesday and Saturday

All others (including multi-family, commercial, and metered irrigation)

Tuesday and Friday

This schedule is meant to spread community water use throughout the week, reducing overall water usage and stress on the water system. It is not required, and may not work for food production, establishment of new landscapes or watering of trees, shrubs and flowers. Large properties, including parks, athletic fields and schools often have over 50 irrigation zones and may need additional watering days to help manage water pressure.

Care for trees

Prioritizing outdoor water use for trees is important to keep them healthy during dry conditions and in the following years. Water trees by hand or with a soaker hose if sprinkler systems are off. Use mulch appropriately to hold water in the soil. Properly placed and maintained trees are an asset to the environment and our community, help mitigate heat, and are an important part of a fire-resilient landscape.

More tips for caring for trees can be found on the Tree Planting, Care and Watering webpage, and tree care and landscape information for the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) can be found in the Wildfire Resilient Landscapes guide.

Water for the weather

Landscapes require different amounts of water based on weather. Typically, plants need more water during hotter periods and less during cooler or wetter times of the year. Program sprinkler systems accordingly and remember to avoid watering when it rains. City water budgets are based on typical weather patterns. Check your budget reported on your monthly water bill to know how watering in different months will impact your water bill. 

Let grass grow longer before cutting it

Raise lawn mower blades and protect lawns from heat by letting grass grow at least 3 inches. A taller lawn provides shade to roots and helps keep water in the soil, so your lawn needs less water. 

Know and grow a resilient landscape

Healthy landscapes are the most drought-resilient. Know the needs of your plants and avoid over-watering and over-fertilizing. Aerate lawns in the spring or fall to help water soak into the ground. Consider converting your landscape to native or low-water plantings if you can.

Several conservation programs are available to customers through the city partnership with Resource Central, including free Slow the Flow sprinkler audits, the lawn replacement program and more.

Save water indoors

There are many ways to reduce your water use inside. Turn off the tap while you're brushing your teeth or washing your hands, take shorter showers, scrape dirty dishes into the compost or trash instead of prewashing, and wait to run your clothes and dishwasher until full.

Drought Response Plan

The City of Boulder's Drought Plan provides guidance for recognizing droughts that may affect water supply availability, and for responding appropriately to these droughts.

We use drought rules and regulations to provide specific details that the city manager, in consultation with City Council, may use to declare or lift a drought alert stage, as well as guide an appropriate response to a drought event.

Evaluating water supply factors

The primary factors in our annual May 1 water supply evaluation include:

  • High-mountain snowpack measurements in the city’s watershed.
  • Water storage levels in the city’s reservoirs.
  • The available amount of Colorado-Big Thompson water.

Snowpack is important because Boulder relies heavily upon snowmelt runoff to fill and store water in its upper Boulder Creek basin reservoirs each year. During the winter and early spring, we measure snowpack levels in the watershed that supplies much of the city’s water.

However, snowpack isn’t the only measurement for drought. Even with lower-than-average snowpack, it’s possible to have enough water stored in reservoirs, combined with a decent allotment of CBT water, to provide water to city customers.

Water stored in the city’s upper Boulder Creek basin reservoirs is also an essential component in determining our annual water supply. As snowmelt decreases later in the summer and we can no longer treat runoff directly from its diversion points on the streams, we must start treating water from reservoir storage to distribute. We continue to use reservoir water until the following spring when snowmelt begins again. We manage our reservoirs so that they are not completely drained in a single year in order to assure an adequate water supply during subsequent dry years.

Water supplied by Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District through the CBT system is another significant factor in our annual water supply, particularly during dry years. CBT water originates in the Colorado River Basin on the West Slope and is delivered to the East Slope through a 13-mile tunnel. Each year, the Northern Water Board of Directors sets an allotment or “quota” of CBT water as a supplemental supply for eastern slope members.

Higher quotas are typically set when East Slope runoff is projected to be lower than normal and West Slope reservoirs are at or above average storage levels. Lower quotas are typically set when East Slope runoff is expected to be above normal or when West Slope reservoirs are significantly below normal storage levels.

Resources

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Frequently Asked Questions

A drought on the ground and "drought" in terms of water supply status are different distinctions. While the two sometimes go hand-in-hand, a weather-based drought does not always translate into a city declaring watering restrictions based on their existing and projected water supply levels.

Learn about water conservation, find out about city programs that can help you save water this year and stay within your water budget. You can monitor your water use on your monthly water bill.

We monitor water supply conditions continuously and will update the city’s drought status as conditions change. Most likely, we will remain in Drought Watch through the fall. Beyond that depends on weather and water supply conditions that are difficult to predict. We will update the community with any changes to the drought stage.

Drought is a local issue. Each city or water provider has a different water supply and water storage capacity. Boulder proactively manages its water operations to maximize savings and long-term storage in dry years. Sometimes Boulder is in a different situation than neighboring communities and sometimes we share common concerns. In 2026, Boulder’s approach is similar to many front range water providers, though not all.

Parks and sports fields serve as a hub for community activities. The grass in these spaces needs extra water to survive the heavy use these areas support. 

Additionally, large properties, including parks, athletic fields and schools, often have over 50 irrigation zones and may need additional watering time to help manage water pressure. City staff actively conserve water across city parks with regular irrigation audits, upgrades to irrigation systems, calibration of sprinkler timers, and installation of soil moisture sensors.

Installation of new landscapes and watering of recently installed landscapes is still allowed and is important to help establish those plantings. We encourage community members to convert their landscapes to climate-adaptive, wildfire-resilient, and waterwise landscapes. These types of landscapes can make our community more resilient to future droughts. We partner with Resource Central to offer discounts to support grass conversions.

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