The Original Sod Squad: Dry Lawns, Dirty Cars, and the Legality of Water Restrictions in the 1950s

• Publication year: 2002
• Pages: 110

31 Colo.Law. 110 Colorado Lawyer 2002.

2002, September, Pg. 110. The Original Sod Squad: Dry Lawns, Dirty Cars, And the Legality of Water Restrictions in the 1950s

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110

Vol. 31, No. 9, Pg. 110

The Colorado Lawyer
September 2002
Vol. 31, No. 9 [Page 110]

Departments
Historical Perspectives
The Original "Sod Squad": Dry Lawns, Dirty Cars And the Legality of Water Restrictions in the 1950s
by Tom I. Romero, II

In 1954, Coloradans faced what, until that time, had been the most severe drought in the history of the state. Hit especially hard was the Denver metropolitan area, which, due to its climate, life-style, economy, and affordability, had become one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the nation. From 1945 to 1954, Denver's population increased 43 percent. Such growth put an incredible strain on a water system that already had included several transmountain diversions to dozens of reservoirs. Alarmingly, more people had been added to the Denver water system between 1946 and 1954 than in the entire twenty-eight-year period since the City and County of Denver acquired the system in 1918 Accordingly, water consumption grew as much from 1940 to 1954, as during the entire proceeding period from its inception way back in 1872

In 1954, to further exacerbate matters, a lack of snow and rain in Colorado, in conjunction with above-average temperatures, decreased water levels to all-time lows. In response, the Denver Water Board ("DWB") promulgated regulations that restricted residents and users of Denver water to use the resource only for irrigation purposes during certain hours and certain days of the week. For the first time in its history, the DWB instituted its first "Sod Squad" to "discover a use of water contrary to the rules and regulations of the Board." If found in violation, the DWB's Sod Squad issued a warning for the first violation, imposed a "special charge" of $5 for the second violation, $25 for the third, and $100 for each subsequent violation.

The ability of the DWB to impose a "special charge" on its customers raised a host of novel questions in Denver's legal community. Did the charge constitute a "penalty" or was it a permissible action extended to the DWB by Article XX of the Colorado Constitution and Article XIX of the City Charter? Indeed, what constituted "practicable" and "low" water rates that still delivered "good service" to...