Where in Colorado is important, but here's my 2 cents from having a suburban yard in Aurora right next to E-470 for about 3-4 years.
The yard was medium sized whole lot was maybe 1 acre. From May - October I ran sprinklers 3-4 times a week for 20 minutes total (like 5 minutes a sector was my programmer) Around 9 pm and 4 am. Watering during the day is not a good idea the heat evaporates most of it before it helps the grass.
The default Colorado grass in my neighborhood grew just fast enough with this watering schedule to need mowed 1 time per month. That's it. I mowed maybe 6 times a year in Colorado.
The biggest issue was weeds in landscaping, rocks, along the house and driveway etc. Handling those is upto you, I wasn't environmentally conscious about it so I used round up in the spring and fall and a "weed flame thrower" from home depot in between, but mostly because burning the dead weeds was longer lasting than the chemicals.
With a small enough yard you can get an electric mower from Home depot for $100 or less. Or a motorless for more exercise.