Minnesota raised the water fees HOAs pay to irrigate common areas
Minnesota raised the water fees HOAs pay to irrigate common areas
2026-09-12 · Minnesota · Compliance
What happened. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources put an increased water-use fee schedule into effect on 1 January 2026, applying to water appropriated during calendar year 2026.1
It reaches any association that irrigates common areas from its own well, a pond, or a lake rather than from municipal water — and the bill for 2026 usage does not arrive until 15 February 2027.
Who needs a permit
A DNR water appropriation permit is required for withdrawals exceeding 10,000 gallons per day or 1 million gallons per year, under Minn. Stat. §§ 103G.271 and 103G.301.2
For a Minnesota association with substantial irrigated common area on its own water source, that threshold is not hard to cross in a dry July.
What changed on 1 January 2026
- Minimum fee, 0–50 million gallons: $140 → $200
- 50–100 million gallon tier: $3.50 → $6.00 per million gallons
- Above 500 million gallons: $8.00 → $15.00 per million gallons
The summer surcharge is the one to model
A surcharge of $50 per million gallons applies to May–September usage exceeding January usage — and it expressly reaches landscape irrigation, alongside municipal water and golf course irrigation.
For an association, January usage from an irrigation source is effectively zero. So the surcharge applies to essentially the entire irrigation season.
The obligations that come with the permit
Permit holders must measure monthly use with a device accurate to ±10 percent and file annual reports. Reports and fees are due 15 February annually — so calendar 2026 usage at the new rates is reported and paid by 15 February 2027.
DNR may also suspend surface-water appropriation permits under low-flow conditions. For a community irrigating from a pond or a lake, that is an operational risk, not just a cost.
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Related Minnesota HOA Topics
- Water use fee rates — Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (old and new rates, summer surcharge, effective date) ↩
- Water use (appropriations) permits — Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (thresholds, metering and annual reporting) ↩
- H.F. 793 bill status (certified salt applicator limited liability; did not pass) — Minnesota Revisor of Statutes ↩
- Chloride reduction program — Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (voluntary Smart Salting training) ↩
- Minn. Stat. § 500.216 — restrictions on managed natural landscapes ↩
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