County says turf replacement projects are reducing irrigation water use at public facilities

Larimer County officials said turf replacement and drought-tolerant landscaping projects are already reducing irrigation water use at county facilities, including a reported average drop of about 1 million gallons across nine tracked sites and a 49% reduction at the Loveland licensing building.

The update came during a Board of County Commissioners work session on the county’s Internal Climate Action, Resilience, and Education, or ICARE, plan. In the plan’s natural environment, water and agriculture section, the county set a goal to “Reduce average annual irrigation water 20% by 2027.” Abbey Stapleton of the Commissioners’ Office said the county has completed three turf replacement projects in 2026, following a Loveland campus turf reduction project in 2025.

Planner’s notes for the presentation said nine county facilities tracked through utility bills averaged about 12.5 million gallons in 2021 through 2023, then dropped by about 1 million gallons on average in 2024 and 2025. The packet also listed annual water-use totals of 12,563,817 gallons and 11,502,381 gallons on the water-reduction goal slide.

Stapleton also cited estimated monthly savings at several sites: about 6,000 gallons from a Behavioral Health turf replacement using cool-season turf, 7,000 gallons from native-grass and tree conversion at 200 West Oak, and 3,000 gallons from drought-tolerant landscaping and drip irrigation at the Sheriff’s Administration building. A separate slide on the Loveland campus said the right-of-way conversion there led to a “49% reduction in water use” after three years of projects.

The county is also pursuing a related ICARE goal to “Transition all facility perimeters, beds, and non-functional turf to native xeriscaping by 2028.” At The Ranch, that work includes replacing irrigated swales and turf areas with rock and drought-tolerant plantings. The packet says Lot E rock bed native grass areas were disabled from the irrigation system this year, after Phase 1 rock-bed construction on Arena Circle in 2025.

Commissioners did not debate the water figures during the discussion, but they praised the broader ICARE progress. Commissioner Kristin Stephens said the county was “setting the example for the community” by doing the work at its own facilities, while Chair Jody Shadduck-McNally called the presentation “great information” and said the county had “a lot to celebrate.”