New landscapes in one fast-growing Colorado community now come with a water ceiling.
The City and County of Broomfield limits turf to 30% of the landscaped area in qualifying development projects. Kate Volz, Broomfield’s landscape architect, says only 20% of that turf can be cool-season grass.
The ordinance sharply restricts Kentucky bluegrass while preserving turf for functional spaces such as playgrounds and multipurpose fields.
It also limits projected outdoor water use to 12 gallons per square foot annually. Volz says removing most high-water turf makes that budget achievable with lower-water grasses and other climate-appropriate plants.
The change addresses a major source of demand. By 2023, an estimated 60% to 70% of Broomfield’s annual water use was tied to landscape irrigation.
The city developed the standards after attending a WaterNow workshop, studying codes from other Western communities and consulting residents, elected officials, landscape architects and homeowners associations.
Rather than paying to remove every lawn later, Broomfield is using its development ordinance to prevent decades of unnecessary irrigation from being built into the city.
Episode at https://youtu.be/lUNjeFsgsQM?si=QB4wOYbZabTNUyxx
Resilience in the Rockies is a waterloop series produced in collaboration with WaterNow and made possible in part by a grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, with support from PCL Construction, Norris Design, Merrick, and the City of Greeley.
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