If you buy a house in Aurora this fall, your sewer charge for the first several months won't be based on how much water you use. It will be based on how much the seller used last December, January and February. Aurora Water's rules say that when a home "change[s] ownership (for any reason, including but not limited to the sale of the property)," the account "shall continue with the previously calculated Winter Quarter Average." The new owner's own average is set only after the next winter.
The yard transfers on fixed terms too. On Sept. 28, 2026, Aurora City Council passed an ordinance that bars residents citywide from installing new cool-weather turf such as Kentucky bluegrass and fescue. Taken together, the rules mean an Aurora buyer takes on the seller's water baseline and the seller's yard. That yard can be kept up or converted. Adding new bluegrass is off the table.
The Bill You Inherit at Closing
Aurora calculates the Winter Quarter Average, or WQA, from an account's average monthly water use during December, January and February. The figure is recalculated each year and first appears on the April bill. Winter is the base period because almost nobody irrigates then, so winter use is a stand-in for what goes down the drain indoors. The WQA drives the sewer volumetric charge, which Aurora assesses per 1,000 gallons of wastewater.
Here is the sequence for a home that closes in October 2026:
- At closing, the seller's WQA from the December 2025 to February 2026 winter stays on the account.
- From December 2026 through February 2027, the new owner's indoor use becomes the winter period that sets the next average.
- In April 2027, a WQA based on the new owner's use shows up on the bill.
The rules carve out two exceptions. A newly built home has no history, so it starts at the residential "Annual Default Amount," an average of winter use calculated by customer class and meter size, until it has been through its first winter. And an existing house that recorded zero use in all three winter months, as a vacant house might, gets reviewed and reset to that same default. The rule text I reviewed doesn't give the number of gallons in the default.
There's one thing a buyer won't inherit. Aurora's allocation page says single-family homes do not carry the annual water allocations that commercial, irrigation and multifamily accounts have. For a single-family home, the WQA is the piece of history that transfers.
Why the Inherited Number Matters More in a Drought Year
In most years, the WQA only affects sewer charges. In 2026 it also comes up in drought pricing. Council declared a Stage 1 drought at its April 6 meeting. Since then, the city has added a surcharge of $2.15 per 1,000 gallons on top of standard rates. As of Oct. 4, 2026, Aurora's total reservoir storage was at 41%. Spinney Mountain Reservoir was at 29%, and Jefferson Lake was empty.
The city's drought page gives two different triggers for the surcharge. Its main table, and a worked example in its FAQ, apply the surcharge to use above 110% of the winter quarter average. Another FAQ answer on the same page says the residential surcharge applies once use reaches Tier II and that the first 5,000 gallons a month are exempt. Under the 110% version, the threshold would rest on whatever WQA is on the account. A buyer who closes this fall would have their own WQA by the April 2027 bill, in time for summer. A buyer who closes in spring 2027 would carry the seller's December-to-February average through the summer of 2027 and into early 2028, if Stage 1 is still in effect then. Until the page is reconciled, Aurora Water is the place to get a definitive answer for a specific account.
The table below shows the base rates from Aurora Water's 2026 residential schedule. The right-hand column adds the $2.15 surcharge to every tier from Tier II up, which is how the Tier II reading of the FAQ would work.
| Monthly use | 2026 base rate per 1,000 gal | With $2.15 Stage 1 surcharge |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5,000 gallons | $5.80 | $5.80, first 5,000 exempt |
| 5,001 to 10,000 | $7.30 | $9.45 |
| 10,001 to 19,999 | $10.42 | $12.57 |
| 20,000 and above | $14.60 | $16.75 |
The gallons in the upper tiers come from summer irrigation. The city says watering rules are enforced with a warning and then fines of $125, $250 and $500 for single-family accounts. Under Stage 1, outdoor watering is limited to two assigned days a week. From May 1 through Sept. 30 it's also banned between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The Yard Is Now Fixed in Place
The Sept. 28 ordinance turns that pricing into a permanent limit on the property. The council packet says the ordinance "will prohibit the installation of turf and ornamental water features unless approved in writing by the General Manager" of Aurora Water. It also rules out exemptions for "the removal of water-wise landscaping for the purpose of installing turf." The item was sponsored by Council Members Amy Wiles and Françoise Bergan. Sentinel Colorado and Colorado Politics covered the first vote on Sept. 14, and the city reports final passage on Sept. 28.
The city frames this as a matter of reuse. Water sprayed on high-use turf "can't be recaptured and reused through Aurora Water's Prairie Waters potable reuse system." The packet says about half of the city's water still goes to outdoor irrigation.
This also changes the comparison between older and newer homes. Aurora already restricted non-functional turf in new development in 2022. So for newer builds, little changed. The 2026 rule extends the same limit to every existing yard. An established bluegrass lawn on an older lot is no longer something any owner could put in later. It's an existing feature that can be maintained or taken out, and once removed it can't come back as bluegrass without written approval from Aurora Water. A buyer who plans to pull up a tired lawn and lay new bluegrass sod is describing work the ordinance now prohibits.
The ordinance also sets a season for spray irrigation. It's prohibited from Oct. 15 through April 30 in high-traffic areas such as residential yards. Residential customers with lawns on the home's meter must stop irrigating by Oct. 15. For a showing scheduled after mid-October, that means the lawn's color shows the end of a dry season, not how the yard has been cared for.
Where the Rebate Fits
If an older lawn can't be replaced with more bluegrass, it does have one new use: it's what qualifies the property for Aurora's Grass Replacement Incentive Program, or GRIP. To be eligible, the area must have existing irrigated, well-maintained grass. Residential rebates are $3 per square foot for a traditional water-wise conversion and $0.50 per square foot for native or low-water grasses. Projects need approval before any work starts. Artificial turf doesn't qualify, and the rebate isn't retroactive.
The calendar is what matters for a fall buyer. The fall application group opens Nov. 1, 2026, and runs through Jan. 1, 2027, with work due by July 31, 2027. A home that closes in October sits just ahead of that window, and a November or December closing falls inside it. A seller who tore out the lawn before listing without preapproval would have given up that eligibility on a project that can't be credited after the fact.
Covenants used to be the other obstacle to conversion. Colorado's SB23-178 bars HOAs from prohibiting xeriscape, nonvegetative turf or drought-tolerant plants on property the owner maintains. HOAs can still set design rules, as long as one option is at least 80% drought-tolerant plantings. The law covers detached single-family homes only, not attached homes or condominiums. Aurora Water's drought FAQ adds that HOAs cannot penalize homeowners for turf that yellows because of the watering restrictions.
Why This Comes Up at the Negotiating Table Now
These costs show up in a market where buyers have more room to ask questions. In the Colorado Association of REALTORS® August 2026 snapshot, Aurora's median price was $525,000, with 1,088 single-family listings across the city's ZIP codes. The report said conditions favored buyers, with mortgage rates above 7% and rising insurance, metro-district, HOA and property-tax costs. The same report describes sellers offering concessions to help buyers buy down rates.
Water isn't on the CAR list of rising costs, but in Aurora it behaves like one. On paper, two homes at the same price can come with very different water costs. One has an inherited winter average and a bluegrass lawn that's now grandfathered. The other is a new build on the default amount, with a yard that was designed around the 2022 rule. Water bills are part of the carrying-cost picture buyers in this market are already weighing.
FAQ
Can a buyer ask for the seller's water bills? Aurora's drought page notes that the "sewer usage chg" line on a bill shows the winter quarter average, which makes it the line to look at when reading those bills. The current account holder controls access to the bills.
Does the ordinance require removing an existing lawn? No. The city's summary covers installing new cool-weather turf and ornamental water features and restricting spray irrigation by season. It doesn't say anything about removing existing turf.
Do the yard rules apply to condos and townhomes? The ordinance applies citywide. Under Stage 1, HOA areas that aren't communal use must stop irrigating by Oct. 1, and communal-use space by Oct. 15. The HOA protections in SB23-178 cover detached single-family homes only.
If you're comparing an Aurora house with an established lawn against a newer build and want to work out what each one's water history and yard will mean once you own it, Howells Denver Homes can go through the bills, the rebate calendar and the closing date with you. Let's talk about your home.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
