Outdoor Irrigation Will Be Limited In Arvada Starting Next Month

ARVADA, CO — To prepare for maintenance on the Ralston Reservoir, the city of Arvada will restrict residents' use of water for outdoor irrigation beginning Friday.

From Oct. 1 through Oct. 14, residents of properties that end in an odd number can only water on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday, and residents of properties that end in an even number can only water on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, city officials said on the city's website.

Exceptions exist for annuals and vegetables – which can be watered any day using drip irrigation or hand-held watering – and anyone with newly-planted seed or sod, who can water their new turf as necessary for up to 21 days.

On Oct. 15, all outdoor watering except hand-held watering must end at residential properties and in homeowners associations. Sprinkler blowouts will still be permitted, officials said.

Additionally, all watering of outdoor common spaces at homeowners associations must end by Oct. 1, though sprinkler system blow-outs and annual back flow tests are permitted.

Next month, Ralston Reservoir – historically the sole source of raw water for the Ralston Water Treatment Plant – will be drained for around nine months so Denver Water can perform maintenance activities.

Additionally, since the current extended period of hot and dry weather conditions has created an above-average demand of water, watering restrictions will help ensure that there is an adequate amount of water for drinking, emergency response and other uses, officials said.

The city is also reducing its water usage by stopping its watering of medians and shutting down low-priority parks areas on or around Oct. 1.

"Athletic fields will continue to be watered for aesthetics and safety reasons," officials said on the website. "However, athletic fields are primarily watered with untreated raw water and therefore will not affect system capacity. Newly seeded areas will continue to be watered as is allowed for residential customers."

More information about watering guidelines and restrictions can be found here.