Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, CO water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
colorado springs utilities
surface water (rivers/reservoirs) · local government · PWSID CO0121150
Below EPA's 15 ppb lead action level at last testing.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) · 2026 Q1
Colorado Springs is a large city and the 2nd-largest in Colorado, home to roughly 456,568 residents. Colorado Springs's drinking water comes largely from the same regional sources that serve Colorado: Colorado River headwaters, South Platte, Arkansas River, and snowpack.
As elsewhere in Colorado, the central challenge is colorado river. As the headwaters of the Colorado River, Colorado faces both upstream obligations and rapid Front Range growth; the state approved direct potable reuse regulations in 2022.
Colorado reuses an estimated 14% of its treated wastewater and maintains developing reuse programs; Colorado Springs tracks exceptional drought conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale.
Explore the Colorado profile for statewide context, or dig into the water issues shaping Colorado Springs below.
El Paso County water quality
Source: EPA SDWIS · 2026 Q1
At a glance
- Population ~456,568 (2nd-largest in Colorado)
- Primary sources: Colorado River headwaters, South Platte, Arkansas River, and snowpack
- Drought: exceptional conditions
- State reuse rate: ~14% of wastewater
Statewide drought history
% of Colorado in severe+ drought (Exceptional (D4) now).
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor
Common questions
Is tap water safe in Colorado Springs?
Colorado Springs's largest water system, COLORADO SPRINGS UTILITIES, serves about 464,111 people. EPA records show 0 health-based violation(s) since 2016 and a most-recent 90th-percentile lead level of 5.7 ppb (EPA action level is 15 ppb). Always check your own provider's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Where does Colorado Springs get its water?
COLORADO SPRINGS UTILITIES draws primarily from surface water (rivers/reservoirs), part of Colorado's supply from Colorado River headwaters, South Platte, Arkansas River.
Related water issues
Colorado River
The river that supplies 40 million people has lost roughly a fifth of its flow since 2000, forcing a renegotiation of how seven states share the water.
ExploreDrought
Much of the American West is in a multi-decade dry period that researchers describe as the most severe in over a millennium, reshaping how communities plan for water.
ExplorePotable Reuse
Advanced purification turns treated wastewater into water that meets or exceeds drinking-water standards — increasingly essential in water-stressed regions.
ExploreAgricultural Demand
Agriculture accounts for the majority of consumptive water use in the West, making farm efficiency and water markets central to any supply solution.
Explore