Douglas County water plan aims to protect growth after dry winter

Douglas County is betting its 2050 water plan can steady growth and household supply even as Highlands Ranch, Parker and Castle Rock have already urged residents to cut back on water use after a record-dry winter. The central test now is whether Commissioner George Teal can show where the county will draw the line if dry conditions deepen.

Teal, the District II commissioner who was chosen as board chair in January 2026, is the public face of a planning effort the county says will shape water reliability for homes, businesses, agriculture, natural areas and population growth. Residents can reach him at gteal@douglasco.gov or 303-819-5936.

The county’s 2050 Douglas County Water Plan was received by staff on December 31, 2025, and an initial water commission workshop was scheduled for January 26, 2026. County materials say the full planning process will take about 18 months and will include supply-and-demand analysis, land-use policy analysis, development of the water plan, and public engagement.

Those details matter because Douglas County communities are already living through the pressure point. On March 24, 2026, officials in Highlands Ranch, Parker and Castle Rock asked residents to conserve water, saying outdoor watering is the largest seasonal driver of higher use and conservation is the most economical way to protect supplies. Highlands Ranch Water described the community as a 22,000-acre master-planned area built around a planned build-out population, a reminder that water planning in Douglas County is also a growth-management question.

The county says its first-quarter outreach will begin with targeted focus groups involving groundwater well users, water providers and developers or economic development organizations. That will be followed by a public engagement webpage, then a public open house before a future hearing to adopt the plan in 2026.

The harder question for households and builders is what changes if the winter stays dry. County documents describe the draft plan as a working draft meant to fill information gaps and refine policy recommendations, but they do not yet spell out the exact thresholds that would trigger restrictions, delays or policy changes. That leaves the coming public process as the county’s main accountability test: whether officials can define the conditions that would protect existing neighborhoods, slow risky development or require tougher conservation before shortages reach taps and yards.

Douglas County has been building toward this moment for years. In 2023, commissioners began vetting nominees for an 11-member water commission, and county records show the board later directed staff on Jan. 3 to begin due diligence and public outreach on the Renewable Water Resources proposal. The county’s stakeholder sessions drew voices from Aurora Water, South Metro Water Supply Authority, Trout Unlimited, Colorado Open Lands, the Colorado Ag Water Alliance and the Colorado Water Conservation Board. For Douglas County, the next 18 months will show whether that broad process produces a plan with real triggers, not just broad assurances.