DENVER -- Extreme drought conditions call for extreme measures and on Wednesday that meant a new Denver measure that would ban all outdoor watering for Denver's 1.1 million customer starting Oct. 1.

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The Denver Water Board voted Wednesday on toughening current mandatory watering restrictions after it realized that many water users weren't doing their parts to save water.

Since the mandatory watering restrictions began in July, consumers have cut back water usage by 16 percent but Denver's goal was a 30 percent reduction in water usage.

The surcharge on lawn watering will start Oct. 1 and will last until Denver's reservoirs reach 80 percent capacity, and that could mean through the end of next summer if this winter's snowfall is low, the board said.

Watering hours will also be cut from three hours on designated days to two hours beginning Sept. 1.

Board members have also banned all lawn watering on Sundays starting in September. Consumers whose circle-diamond-square scheduled watering day falls on a Sunday will be out of luck. They will have to skip watering and wait until their turn comes again later in the week.

Some landscape experts say an Oct. 1 cutoff could harm lawns because that's when the root systems dig in for winter, but officials say that the restrictions are necessary when dealing with the state's worst drought on record.

The last year has been the driest ever recorded and the severity of the drought shows no sign of moderating, the board said.

New Water Changes

Here are the other restrictions that the board passed on Wednesday:

Effective Immediately:

No more permits will be issued for new turf sod or grass seed and large irrigated areas.

Effective Sept. 1:

Golf courses who use Denver water can no longer water the fairways. Tees and greens are exempt.
Penalites for water violations will be doubled.
Vehicles in fleets or being offered for sale or rent can only be washed only by permit. The permit limits washing to once a week and only at certified commercial car washes that use recycled water.
Hotels will not change sheets more than once every four days for customers staying more than four days.
All outdoor fountains will be prohibited.
All permits previously issued for large areas will be terminated.
Residents with current watering permits must reduce water usage by 30 percent, must cut back from three to two hours and can't water on Sundays.

Effective Oct. 1

No watering of turf and lawns.
Washing cars at home is not allowed. Cars can only be washed at certified commercial car washes.
Hand watering will be allowed any day, between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m., to protect trees and shrubs. Vegetable and flower gardens, trees, and shrubs are exempt from the watering ban.
Athletic or playing fields are exempt from the ban and can continue to be irrigated as allowed in its permits.

Use A Lot Of Water? Pay Up

Customers who use 70 percent more water than usual will be assessed additional fees.

If you use more than 7,000 gallons for two months, you'll be charged an extra 25 cents per 1,000 gallons. If you use more than 22,000 gallons, the surcharge is 50 cents per 1,000 gallons. The use of more than 60,000 gallons of water would mean a 75-cent charge for every 1,000 gallons.

SURVEY What do you think of an all-out ban on lawn watering in October? Great idea. Anything we can do to help conserve water. It stinks. Surely my lawn will be dead next year. My lawn is already dead so it doesn't really matter. Results  |  Disclaimer

And the gallons add up fast. For example, five loads of laundry a week would use about 100 to 250 gallons of water, according to the Denver Water Board's use chart.

Ten-minute showers every day for a family of four would be about 1,400 gallons after a week. Toilet use adds in another 600 gallons and using the dishwasher every day for a week would be 85 gallons. Those items alone add up to about 2,200 gallons a week and 9,000 gallons in a month and that doesn't include cooking, cleaning, brushing your teeth or shaving.

The surcharges will show up in November water bills. The surcharges and the restrictions are temporary, the board emphasized, and will only last until water levels reach normal levels.

Some Businesses Worry

Not only are families concerned about that surcharge, so are businesses, 7NEWS reported.

Denver Water said that 41 percent of customers will not be affected.

But, 7NEWS reported that fast food restaurants will probably see their water bill go up $11 a month.

Water bills for grocery stores with go up $283 a month and high school water bills will go up $319 a month.

Homeowners associations and big businesses like Pepsi and Frito lay will see the biggest jumps, estimated at more than $5,000 a month.

Some smaller businesses, such as landscapers, said that the surcharges could put them out of business and could mean a loss of hundreds of jobs.

Denver will also spend $500,000 to add personnel who will be used to monitor water use and step up enforcement, 7NEWS reported.

Meanwhile the so-called "sod-squad" -- the people who make sure you follow water restrictions -- have handed out more than 3,000 citations to violators since restrictions began.

That includes 132 repeat offenders hit with $50 fines and four violators issued $250 fines.