Author: Dianne DeLongchamps
Drought guidance verified as of August 2026. Status changes. Check your provider before you set your timer.
Are there watering restrictions in Fort Collins, Windsor, and Timnath right now?
Not mandatory ones. As of August 2026, Fort Collins Utilities and Fort Collins–Loveland Water District are both under voluntary Water Shortage Watches, declared May 1, 2026. Both ask customers to water no more than two days a week. Neither carries fines or citations.
Here’s how Clean Air Lawn Care works inside that. Our organic program is a soil program made from non-toxic organic fertilizers and organic soil builders, aimed at how well the soil takes in and holds water. Luke’s guidance barely changes under a voluntary ask: 1 to 2 inches a week, 2 inches mid-July to mid-August, across two to three deep waterings, with the mower up at 3 to 3.5 inches to slow evaporation. We run all-electric, solar-charged equipment in Fort Collins, Windsor, and Timnath, and we’d rather help you protect the lawn on one inch a week than sell you more of anything.
Colorado declared a statewide drought emergency on June 4, 2026, so the voluntary status could tighten. Right now, in our service area, it’s a request, not a rule.
Plenty of content describes Denver Water’s rules, which are mandatory, as though they applied here. They don’t, Denver Water doesn’t serve Fort Collins, Windsor, or Timnath.
What did Colorado’s statewide drought emergency actually do?
Governor Polis activated Phase 3 of Colorado’s Drought Response Plan and declared a statewide drought emergency on June 4, 2026. All 64 Colorado counties are experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions, with nearly 93% at moderate to exceptional drought.
The declaration enables emergency funding and state-facility water reductions. It doesn’t impose watering rules on households, those come from your local provider.
What is Fort Collins Utilities asking customers to do?
Status: Water Shortage Watch, effective May 1, 2026, still in force.
Fort Collins defines it: “A Water Shortage Watch is a voluntary action level declared by the Fort Collins City Manager that signals the higher potential for water restrictions if conditions worsen or customer demand goes above projections.”
And: “There are no water rate increases or citations associated with a watch.”
What the City is asking:
- Limit watering to two days per week
- No watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
- Target “0.62 gallons per square foot or 1 inch per week”
- Use shutoff nozzles on hoses for hand watering and vehicle washing
The City’s stated reason: “the ongoing drought in Larimer County and the historic low snowpack in our source watersheds”, with the goal of avoiding mandatory restrictions later.
If it escalates: the adopted Water Shortage Action Plan sets mandatory Action Levels. Level I and II require two-days-per-week watering with no midday watering; Level III drops to one day; Level IV prohibits lawn watering. Fines at mandatory levels run $50 to $1,000 for residential customers, issued “following a warning.” New Seed/Sod permits become available at mandatory levels, allowing any-day watering at Level I, September-to-April installations only at Level II, and none at Level III.
What is Fort Collins–Loveland Water District asking?
The District serves most of Timnath, plus parts of Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, and unincorporated Larimer County, roughly 60 square miles and over 67,000 people.
Status: “Water Shortage Watch – Voluntary status.” The District states it is “not mandatory but highly encouraged.”
What the District is asking:
- Watering 2 days per week. You choose the days – no assigned odd/even or day-of-week schedule
- Water between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m.
- This watering schedule is voluntary and is only meant for turf irrigation.
- New sod: “We recommend that customers delay planting new sod from June – August.” Once rooted, typically after two weeks, reduce to normal levels
The District also notes its “projected water supply meets our expected demands.”
Worth noticing: the District endorses evening watering. If you’ve read that evening watering causes lawn disease, that’s advice for humid climates. CSU Extension’s Colorado guidance says directly that “watering at night does not encourage disease development” here. Your district’s window and CSU’s guidance agree.
Does Windsor have watering restrictions?
Windsor has no mandatory watering schedule on the Town’s water, utilities, or conservation pages. It publishes voluntary efficiency guidance instead; rebates, the Mayor’s Water Challenge, and a pointer to Northern Water’s daily evapotranspiration data.
Here’s the part Windsor homeowners miss: not every Windsor property is on Town water. Depending on your address you may be served by the Town of Windsor, Fort Collins–Loveland Water District, or North Weld County Water District. NWCWD has posted voluntary watering restrictions and a voluntary water reduction request citing the statewide emergency and historically low irrigation supplies.
Check your bill. Their 2026 guidance differs.
How do I keep my lawn healthy watering only two days a week?
CMG GardenNotes #265: “For most Colorado soils, irrigating once per week works in the spring and fall, and twice a week works in the summer.” CSU’s necrotic ring spot guidance is stricter still. It says water as infrequently as possible, typically no more than twice weekly.
So a two-day schedule isn’t a compromise. For most Front Range lawns it’s already the right one.
What changes under a one-inch ask is where the water goes and how the lawn uses it:
- Water deep, not often. CSU: on clay, “apply 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water to moisten the root zone to a 6-inch depth.” On sand, half an inch does it. Know which you have.
- Raise the deck. Three inches minimum, 3.5 in July and August. Taller grass shades its own soil and holds moisture longer. CSU: mowing under two inches “can reduce drought and heat tolerance.”
- Water in CSU’s efficient window – “between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.” Less wind, less evaporation. If your provider says 6 p.m. to 10 a.m., that’s inside it.
- Audit your sprinklers. CSU’s method: 5–10 identical straight-sided containers, run 15–20 minutes, measure with a ruler to 1/10 inch. (CSU’s tutorial lists tuna cans; their GardenNotes guide warns those are shallow enough to splash. Use taller containers.)
- Aerate. Compacted clay sheds water instead of absorbing it. CSU calls compaction “the primary factor limiting plant growth in landscape soils” and recommends aerating at least once a year.
- Let it go a little dull. A slightly duller green through August means the lawn is using water efficiently. CSU’s own overwatering test: “In unusually hot weather, if dry spots do not pop up, the lawn is over-watered.”
Three towns, three different water providers, and the fastest way to get it wrong is to read something written about Denver. We check these pages ourselves and we’ll tell you what your specific provider is asking. Inside a voluntary ask, Luke’s guidance doesn’t change much: 1 to 2 inches a week, 2 through mid-July to mid-August, delivered across two to three deep waterings instead of daily sprinkling, with the mower up at 3.5 inches to slow evaporation. If you’re unsure what applies to you, send us your address and we’ll look it up.
Clean Air Lawn Care Northern Colorado is owned by Dianne, Paul, and Luke DeLongchamps — a family business serving Fort Collins, Windsor, and Timnath with organic lawn treatments and solar-powered electric equipment.
