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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Coon Rapids Extends Watering Restrictions Until Further Notice as Drought Concerns Persist
Residents must continue following odd-even watering days, limit irrigation to morning hours and reduce other nonessential water use.
COON RAPIDS, MN (September 5, 2026). Coon Rapids residents will remain under enhanced water-conservation restrictions indefinitely after the City Council extended measures intended to protect the municipal water supply during continuing drought conditions.
The council acted September 1 to continue restrictions first implemented July 7.
The measures will now remain in place until further notice, according to the city.
Residents must continue following the city's odd-even sprinkling schedule.
Homes with odd-numbered addresses may water only on odd-numbered calendar days, while even-numbered addresses may water only on even-numbered days.
Sprinkling and irrigation must also be limited to the period between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m.
The city is additionally asking residents and businesses to reduce other nonessential water consumption.
That includes limiting the washing of vehicles, equipment, buildings and paved surfaces and reducing operation of ornamental fountains.
The restrictions are designed to preserve sufficient water pressure and supply for homes, businesses and emergency fire protection during periods of high demand.
Coon Rapids says recent rainfall has not eliminated the broader water-supply concern.
Several summers of dry conditions combined with relatively low winter snowfall have contributed to stress on groundwater and watershed conditions, prompting the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to ask communities to implement additional conservation measures.
The restrictions are especially important during peak summer watering periods.
Large volumes of simultaneous lawn irrigation can sharply increase municipal demand, reducing system reserves and making it more difficult to maintain adequate supply across the city.
Restricting watering to alternating days distributes that demand.
Limiting irrigation to early morning hours provides another benefit: less water is lost to evaporation than during the warmer middle portion of the day.
Coon Rapids already maintained an odd-even watering framework before the additional 2026 conservation measures.
The July restrictions added the narrower irrigation window and broader requests to reduce discretionary water use.
The September 1 council action means those added requirements will not automatically expire with the traditional end of summer.
They will continue until the city determines water conditions have improved sufficiently to lift them.
The decision is also a reminder that drought conditions can persist even after individual rain events.
Municipal water planning depends not simply on whether rain fell recently, but on longer-term precipitation, groundwater recharge, watershed status and community demand.
For Coon Rapids households, the practical rules remain straightforward:
Check the calendar before turning on sprinklers.
Use irrigation only between 4 and 9 a.m.
And reduce water use that is not essential.
The city says the purpose is not merely lawn conservation.
It is ensuring that adequate water remains available throughout Coon Rapids for everyday use and, most critically, for fire protection.
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