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Water Conservation

The City of Greeley is proud to have a long history of water stewardship here in northern Colorado. Since 1907, we’ve provided safe, high-quality water supplies for our residents while ensuring a reliable supply for the future. One of the many ways we’re safeguarding your water supply is through water conservation. In fact, Greeley offers one of the most robust water conservation programs in Colorado.

With just over 13 inches of rainfall per year, Greeley is considered a semi-arid climate. This means local water supplies are scarce and must be used very wisely. To help customers save water indoors as well as outdoors, Greeley provides a wide range of water conservation programs and services that benefit a variety of water users.

Water Efficiency Plan

The City of Greeley’s Water Efficiency Plan is a roadmap of strategic objectives and water conservation programs to ensure future water supplies. The Water Efficiency Plan was approved by the Water and Sewer Board, Planning Commission and City Council in 2022. The main objectives of the plan are to maximize widespread efficiency in all indoor water use, set goals for more resilient landscapes, and educate customers on water use goals. It will provide direction on how to advance water conservation efforts and build citywide capacity to:

  • Create efficiencies and consistencies among policies, plans, projects, and programs
  • Maximize cost-saving opportunities
  • Create goals with clear measurements for success

Press Releases

Updated Drought Emergency Plan

Release Date:
Feb 17, 2021

For more information, media representatives should contact:

Water and Sewer Director Sean Chambers
970-350-9815
Sean.chambers@greeleygov.com

The city of Greeley now has a new plan to manage times of drought, which will start with asking residents to restrict their outdoor water use throughout the summer during officially declared droughts and move up to financial disincentives for excessive use during more severe droughts. City and state officials are preparing for an official drought this summer, but restrictions in Greeley have yet to be determined.

Greeley City Council solidified the new Drought Emergency Plan during Tuesday’s (Feb. 16) meeting. The new plan calls for increasingly restricted watering schedules based on how deep impending droughts are. The plan comes in time for the city’s annual April projections, during which it projects if the city will have enough water throughout the year that also would sustain a hot summer watering season.

Different parts of Colorado are in varying levels of drought at present and some communities already have planned to impose drought restrictions this summer. Greeley officials, however, make projections based on the city’s diversified supplies of water, which are more plentiful than other communities. City officials will not determine how severe until April. The city hasn’t had to utilize drought restrictions for almost 20 years. Climate experts considered the 2002 drought the worst in 300 years, sparking the existing drought plan prior to Tuesday’s change.

Since 2017, single-family residents had the option to make use of a water budget to help manage water usage. If they go over their budget, their rates increase. Water budgets will not go away under this new drought plan, but the allowed water usage in that budget would incrementally decrease at higher drought level years, which means residents will have to curtail their outdoor watering. The new plan will only count for outdoor watering. Indoor water usage will not be subject to drought restrictions, but all residents and business owners are encouraged to increase water conservation efforts.

Under the new plan, based on the city’s declared water storage year, the city would operate under four levels of drought restrictions: Mild (Level I), Moderate (Level II), Severe (Level 3) and Catastrophic (Level 4).

During Level 1 and Level 2 droughts, the city will rely on voluntary reductions in water use by water customers. As the city moves into Levels 3 or 4 – such as the 2002 drought years -- rate increases would apply as a disincentive to for excessive water use. If conditions reached a level of noncompliance, the city could begin issuing tickets and/or fines.

Depending upon the severity of drought, the city will implement communication and tools to drive water savings that meet use reduction targets.  Greeley customers will be asked to comply with guidance to reduce water to meet the drought response targets described as follows:

Level 1 (Mild) Drought Response
15 percent reduction in water budgets and water use
Watering a maximum of 3 days per week

Level 2 (Moderate) Drought Response
25 percent reduction in water budgets and water use
Watering a maximum of 2 days per week

Level 3 (Severe) Drought Response
50 percent reduction in water budgets and water use
Watering restricted to 1 day per week

Level 4 (Severe Emergency)
70 percent reduction in water budgets and water use
No watering

The restrictions not fall on single-family residences alone. This plan has built-in equity, in which other types of water customers also will be asked to conserve and face equal price increases in higher-level droughts.

The new Drought Emergency Plan also comes with the plan to create a drought reserve fund, as imposing such water restrictions could reduce water revenue from $1.6 million to $3 million.

Blog Posts


Contact Us

Greeley Water and Sewer

1001 11th Avenue, 2nd Floor
Greeley, CO 80631

Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm

970-350-9811 tel
970-350-9805 fax
water@greeleygov.com


Water Conservation

970-336-4134
970-336-4168 for Water Budget
conserve@greeleygov.com


Water Quality

Taste, odor, or appearance

970-350-9836
waterquality@greeleygov.com


Emergencies

Water 7am-3pm970-350-9320
Sewer 7am-3pm970-350-9322
After hours/ weekends970-616-6260

Other Numbers

Billing970-350-9811 (dial 2 for billing clerk)
Start or stop service970-350-9811 (dial 2 for billing clerk)
Water pressure970-350-9320
Water restrictions & violations970-336-4134
Utility line locates811
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