Highlands Ranch CO Water Restrictions 2026

Current water restrictions in Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Highlands Ranch is under a Drought Watch, limiting outdoor watering to 2 days per week under mandatory restrictions declared by the Highlands Ranch Metro District on March 1, 2026.

The Highlands Ranch Metro District triggered the Drought Watch after monitoring seasonal supply conditions and setting a district-wide goal to reduce total outdoor water use by 15–20 percent. The declaration applies to all residential, commercial, and HOA-managed properties served by the district. You can review the official declaration and any updates at highlandsranchwater.org.

Colorado's broader drought picture amplifies the urgency. The Front Range is under a statewide emergency drought designation, with over 20 municipalities under mandatory schedules. Denver Water declared a Stage 1 drought on March 25, 2026, and the Eagle River system is at Stage 3. Highlands Ranch draws from the same regional supply network that is under increasing pressure across the entire Front Range.

Practically speaking: a resident who wants to water their lawn on a Wednesday morning can do so only if Wednesday falls on one of their two assigned watering days, and only outside the prohibited window of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Watering at 7 a.m. on an assigned day is allowed. Running sprinklers at noon on any day — assigned or not — is a violation. Hand watering with a shut-off nozzle and drip irrigation remain exempt from the day-of-week restriction throughout the Drought Watch period.

When can you water in Highlands Ranch?

Rule	Details
Days per week	2
Day assignment	Watering restrictions in place — check with Highlands Ranch Metro District for address-specific schedule
Allowed hours	Before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. only
Hand watering	Exempt — shut-off nozzle required on all hoses
Drip irrigation	Exempt from day restrictions
New sod/seed	30-day establishment window typically available — register with Highlands Ranch Metro District before installation

Under the current Drought Watch, the Highlands Ranch Metro District assigns watering days based on your street address. Odd-numbered addresses and even-numbered addresses are placed on alternating two-day schedules, typically staggered across weekdays and one weekend day. Confirm your specific assigned days by logging into your account at highlandsranchwater.org or contacting the district directly, as schedules can be adjusted when the district moves between drought phases.

Multi-family residential properties and commercial accounts are subject to the same two-day limit but may receive a custom irrigation schedule from the district based on irrigated acreage and meter size. Commercial property managers should contact the district's water efficiency team to document their schedule in writing before the next enforcement cycle begins. HOA common areas — including the extensive turf maintained by many of Highlands Ranch's master-planned community zones — are treated as commercial irrigation accounts and are not exempt from the restriction.

Residents with established trees in their yards should prioritize their two watering days for root-zone irrigation of water-stressed species. Three trees common on Highlands Ranch properties that are particularly vulnerable during dry springs are Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens), Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), and honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos). Deep, slow watering at the drip line — ideally with a soaker hose or drip emitter on an exempt drip system — does far more for tree survival than short sprinkler cycles.

Penalty schedule for water violations

Offense	Penalty
First violation	Written warning — no monetary fine
Second violation	Monetary fine assessed by Highlands Ranch Metro District
Continued violations	Escalating fines; potential flow restrictor installation on meter

The Highlands Ranch Metro District enforces restrictions through a combination of smart meter monitoring and field patrols. The district's automated meter infrastructure (AMI) system logs consumption data at 15-minute intervals, which means high-flow irrigation events during prohibited hours or on non-assigned days are flagged in the system without a neighbor complaint being necessary. Field staff conduct targeted patrols in neighborhoods where AMI data shows anomalies, particularly early morning and mid-afternoon during peak irrigation season.

Complaints from neighbors are also accepted through the district's website. The district aims to respond to reported violations within two business days during active drought periods. If you believe a fine or warning was issued in error — for example, if your drip system ran during a prohibited window — you can request an administrative review through the district's customer service department. Appeals should be submitted in writing with documentation of the irrigation system type and, if available, a controller printout showing run times.

Other outdoor water rules

The Drought Watch extends beyond lawn irrigation. The following activities are restricted or conditionally allowed during the current Drought Watch period in Highlands Ranch:

• Vehicle washing: Allowed only with a hand-held hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle, or at a commercial car wash that recycles water. Running an open hose to rinse a vehicle in a driveway is prohibited.
• Residential pool filling: New pool filling requires prior approval from the Highlands Ranch Metro District. Topping off existing pools to compensate for evaporation is permitted but should be done with a float-valve auto-fill device, not an unattended open hose.
• Decorative fountains: Must be turned off unless equipped with a recirculating pump system. Single-pass water features that drain to a landscape or street are prohibited.
• Pressure washing: Hard surface pressure washing is restricted to situations involving health or safety hazards. Routine driveway or sidewalk washing is prohibited — use a broom.
• Irrigation system testing: Allowed only before 10 a.m. on an assigned watering day, and limited to the minimum time necessary to check heads for damage or mis-alignment.
• Construction water: Contractors operating within Highlands Ranch must use a temporary construction meter from the district and are subject to the same 15–20 percent reduction goal as permanent accounts.

Where Highlands Ranch's water comes from

Highlands Ranch receives its water through the Highlands Ranch Metro District, which purchases treated water from Denver Water — the largest water utility in Colorado. Denver Water's supply system relies on transmountain diversions from the Blue River basin (stored in Dillon Reservoir in Summit County), the Fraser River (diverted through the Moffat Tunnel into Gross Reservoir in Boulder County), and direct storage from the South Platte River watershed. Water is treated at Denver Water's Marston Water Treatment Plant and the Foothills Water Treatment Plant before it enters the regional distribution network that serves Highlands Ranch.

The district also holds direct water rights in the South Platte system and maintains storage agreements that supplement Denver Water purchases during high-demand periods. Highlands Ranch's distribution infrastructure pulls from the broader South Metro Water Supply Authority (SMWSA) network, which coordinates supply planning among twelve south-metro Denver water providers.

Colorado's 2026 drought is compressing reservoir storage across this entire system. Dillon Reservoir, which holds up to 254,000 acre-feet of Blue River water for Denver Water customers, entered the spring refill season at below-average capacity due to a dry winter across the central Rockies. Gross Reservoir, currently being expanded under a federally approved enlargement project, remains constrained in total yield until that project completes. For Highlands Ranch residents, these upstream conditions are the direct reason the Drought Watch was activated in March 2026 — the district is managing against the real possibility that summer demand will outpace available treated water supply from Denver Water.

Can your HOA fine you for a brown lawn?

Colorado law explicitly protects Highlands Ranch homeowners from HOA enforcement actions related to lawn appearance during declared water restrictions. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 37-60-126, a homeowners association cannot fine, penalize, or threaten legal action against a property owner whose lawn browns, dies, or degrades in appearance as a direct result of complying with mandatory water restrictions imposed by a governmental entity or water district.

Practically, this means that if your Kentucky Bluegrass lawn goes dormant or turns brown because you are adhering to the Highlands Ranch Metro District's Drought Watch two-day-per-week limit, your HOA — whether it is the Highlands Ranch Community Association (HRCA) or a sub-association within a specific village — cannot cite you for a landscape violation based on that appearance. The protection applies only when the homeowner is actually complying with restrictions, not simply neglecting irrigation on unrestricted days.

If your HOA sends a warning letter or notice of violation regarding your lawn during the current Drought Watch, respond promptly in writing. Here is a template you can adapt:

"This notice is to inform [HOA Name] that the lawn condition cited in your [date] letter is a direct result of my compliance with the mandatory Drought Watch restrictions declared by the Highlands Ranch Metro District on March 1, 2026. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 37-60-126, a homeowners association may not penalize a property owner for landscaping conditions caused by adherence to lawful water restrictions. I am in full compliance with the Highlands Ranch Metro District's current outdoor watering schedule. Please withdraw the violation notice and update my file accordingly."

How to manage your lawn during drought

Turf management strategy matters as much as total water volume during a Drought Watch. The following table summarizes how the grasses commonly grown on Highlands Ranch properties respond under two-day-per-week irrigation at high altitude (roughly 5,800–6,200 feet elevation):

Grass Type	Drought Tolerance	Dormancy Risk	Recovery After Restriction
Kentucky Bluegrass	Low–Moderate	High — browns quickly below 1 inch/week	Good if dormancy is brief
Tall Fescue	Moderate–High	Moderate — deeper roots extend survival	Strong — often stays green longer
Buffalograss	Very High	Low — native to Colorado plains	Excellent — evolved for Front Range dry cycles
Blue Grama	Very High	Very Low — actively grows in dry conditions	Excellent — minimal irrigation needed

At Highlands Ranch elevations, cool-season grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass are already operating near their stress threshold by late May. During a Drought Watch, the most effective strategy is to raise your mowing height to 3 to 3.5 inches — taller blades shade the soil, reduce surface evaporation, and allow the plant to maintain deeper root contact. Avoid fertilizing Kentucky Bluegrass or Tall Fescue with high-nitrogen products during a drought period, as forcing top growth accelerates water demand your two-day schedule cannot support. Use your allowed watering days for deep, infrequent cycles rather than shallow daily wetting.

Residents considering lawn replacement should look seriously at Buffalograss or Blue Grama — both are native to the Colorado shortgrass prairie ecosystem that Highlands Ranch was built on. These grasses require as little as 0.5 to 1 inch of water per week once established, compared to the 1.5 to 2 inches Kentucky Bluegrass demands at this altitude. The Highlands Ranch Metro District periodically offers turf replacement rebate programs; check the district's Water Smart program page at highlandsranchwater.org for current availability and per-square-foot rebate amounts before committing to a conversion project.

Questions residents are asking

What days can I water at my Highlands Ranch address right now?

You are limited to 2 days per week under the current mandatory Drought Watch. Specific day assignments are tied to your street address — odd and even addresses are typically staggered — and must be confirmed through your account at highlandsranchwater.org. All irrigation must take place before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. on your assigned days. Watering outside assigned days, even briefly, is a violation of the mandatory Drought Watch order.

When did the Highlands Ranch Drought Watch start, and when will it end?

The Highlands Ranch Metro District declared the Drought Watch on March 1, 2026. There is no fixed end date — the district has stated restrictions will remain in place until conditions improve, based on reservoir storage levels, Denver Water supply allocation, and regional precipitation data. The district will publish an update to its drought phase status at highlandsranchwater.org when conditions change.

How much do I need to reduce my water use under the Drought Watch?

The Highlands Ranch Metro District has set an explicit target: reduce outdoor water use by 15 to 20 percent district-wide compared to baseline consumption. Your smart meter data is being tracked, and accounts showing no meaningful reduction from prior-year usage may receive outreach from the district's water efficiency team. Irrigation controllers that are not weather-adjusted are the most common source of excess use — consider enabling the rain sensor or ET-based programming if your system supports it.

Can I wash my car at home in Highlands Ranch right now?

Yes, but only with a hand-held hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle. Leaving a hose running unattended while washing a vehicle is prohibited. Alternatively, using a commercial car wash that recycles water is the most restriction-compliant option and typically uses less water per vehicle than even a nozzle-equipped home wash.

Does the Highlands Ranch Metro District use smart meters to catch violations?

Yes. The district's automated meter infrastructure (AMI) system records water flow in 15-minute intervals around the clock. This means the district can identify irrigation events during the prohibited 10 a.m.–6 p.m. window and flag accounts running sprinklers on non-assigned days — without relying on neighbor reports. Field patrol staff follow up on AMI alerts, particularly in neighborhoods where multiple anomalies appear in the same billing zone.

Does my HOA have to allow my lawn to go brown during the Drought Watch?

Yes. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 37-60-126, your HOA — including the Highlands Ranch Community Association or any sub-association in your village — cannot fine you for lawn browning or dormancy caused by compliance with the Highlands Ranch Metro District's mandatory Drought Watch restrictions. If you receive an HOA violation notice, respond in writing citing the statute and the March 1, 2026 Drought Watch declaration. Keep a copy of your response.

Are drip irrigation systems exempt from the two-day limit?

Yes. Drip irrigation systems are fully exempt from the day-of-week restriction under the current Drought Watch. You can run drip emitters serving trees, shrubs, flower beds, and vegetable gardens any day of the week and at any hour. This exemption does not extend to in-ground pop-up sprinkler systems, even when set to a drip-equivalent output rate. If you have a hybrid system with both spray heads and drip zones, only the drip zones are exempt — the spray zones remain subject to the two-day schedule.

What rebates does Highlands Ranch Metro District offer for replacing turf during the Drought Watch?

The Highlands Ranch Metro District's Water Smart program offers rebates for qualifying turf removal and replacement with water-efficient landscaping. Rebate amounts per square foot and eligibility requirements — including minimum replacement area and approved plant lists — are updated seasonally. During active drought phases, the district has historically increased rebate values to accelerate conversions. Visit highlandsranchwater.org and navigate to the Water Smart or Conservation Rebates section for current program details before starting any turf conversion project, as pre-approval is typically required.

What time can I water in Highlands Ranch?

Watering is allowed Not 10am-6pm. Watering outside these hours is a violation even on your assigned day.

What are the fines for watering violations in Highlands Ranch?

First offense: Warning first. Repeat violations: Fines. Contact Highlands Ranch Metro District for the full enforcement schedule.

When will water restrictions end in Highlands Ranch?

Current Drought Watch restrictions are in effect through Until conditions improve. Monitor https://highlandsranchwater.org for the latest status.

Can I hand water during Highlands Ranch water restrictions?

Yes. Hand watering with a hose fitted with a shut-off nozzle is generally allowed on any day during permitted hours. Drip irrigation and soaker hoses are also typically exempt from the day-of-week schedule. Confirm specifics with Highlands Ranch Metro District.