From The Colorado Springs Gazette (R. Scott Rappold):
If City Council approves, watering restrictions would begin April 1, just when grasses and plants are spreading their roots and need plenty of moisture.
So how will it work?
The plan being put forward by Colorado Springs Utilities would limit residents to two days of watering a week, even-numbered addresses one day and odd-numbered addresses another day, and only before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. to limit evaporation. Plants and shrubs — but not grass — could be watered any time with drip irrigation systems or hand-held hoses with a shut-off nozzle. Cars could be washed on a designated watering days and Saturdays and Sundays.
So, it might not be the best year to plant a lawn, but residents still can try. They would be required to buy a $50 “establishment permit” from Utilities and show a receipt that they have bought four cubic yards of a soil amendment such as mulch for every 1,000 square feet of new lawn.
So, how do you police watering in a city of 426,000 people?
With utility bills.
Utilities uses a tiered rate structure, with customers paying more for using more water. Rates would stay the same for the lowest tier, those using 999 cubic feet per billing cycle. The ceiling of the second tier of rates would be lowered from 2,500 to 2,000, meaning anyone who uses more than 2,000 cubic feet would pay double for that water only.