Ditching useless turf for a ColoradoScape? We can help!

With record-low snowpack in the mountains and the need to help preserve water levels in storage reservoirs, this year is a great year to remodel a section of Kentucky bluegrass into a water-wise garden. 

More people every year are creating beautiful, drought-resilient ColoradoScapes that fit naturally into our state’s dry climate, are interesting in summer and winter, and provide diverse habitat for urban pollinators and wildlife. 

If you're ready to take the first step, Denver Water can help!

Denver Water is offering its residential customers a limited number of discounts on two popular programs run by the nonprofit Resource Central: its turf removal service and its long-running Garden In A Box kits. 

“We’ve heard from customers that they are very interested in remodeling their landscapes into drought-tolerant, Colorado-friendly oases, and they need some help to get started. A discount on Resource Central’s popular programs is one way we can help,” said Greg Fisher, manager of demand planning at Denver Water. 

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Currently, about 40% of the water used by Denver Water customers is used outdoors, often to irrigate water-intensive, decorative Kentucky bluegrass turf that is only walked on when it is mowed. Denver Water aims to reduce the amount of decorative, nonfunctional turf in its service area.

Having a water-wise ColoradoScape — a diverse, sustainable landscape of water-wise plants and cooling trees that offer environmental benefits and interest throughout the year — is an important part of our vibrant communities.

If you’re a Denver Water residential customer and ready to create your own ColoradoScape in 2026, the utility and Resource Central can help. 

Turf removal

Denver Water is offering residential customers a limited number of discounts, up to $750 in 2026, on a first-come-first-served basis, on Resource Central’s residential turf removal services. The 2026 discount also can be used for up to four water-wise Garden In A Box kits.

Application requirements include the removal of at least 200 square feet of water-intensive turf, a photo of the area to be transformed and plans for the new water-wise landscape that will be created (artificial turf is not allowed). 

Click here for additional details and the application process.  

Watch a video from Resource Central outlining their turf removal service: 

Garden In A Box

Denver Water also is offering its residential customers a limited number of $25 discounts, also on a first-come basis, on Resource Central’s professionally designed, water-wise Garden In A Box program. This year the spring sale started March 11, for pickup and planting in May and June, with a summer sale starting June 24, for pickup and planting in August and September. Click here for details on the Garden In A Box program and to sign up for program notifications. 

The Boulder-based nonprofit offers an array of ready-to-plant water-wise garden options for shady or sunny areas, covering 60 to 100 square feet, and the plant-by-number kits include a care and maintenance guide for the new plants. 

Get more water-saving tips, for indoors and out, at denverwater.org/Conserve. 

The water-wise plant-by-number garden kits have been popular with Denver Water customers for years.

In 2025, Denver Water customers purchased 2,727 water-wise Garden In A Box kits, creating an estimated 245,000 square feet of new ColoradoScapes that Resource Central estimates will collectively will save more than 17.8 million gallons of water over the gardens’ life span.

“Reducing water use respects the beauty of our great state and ensures a safe water supply for generations to come. It’s simply the right thing to do. It’s a Colorado thing,” Fisher said. 

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