Rock Springs
Rock Springs, WY water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
rock springs, city of
surface water (rivers/reservoirs) · local government · PWSID WY5601182
Below EPA's 15 ppb lead action level at last testing.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) · 2026 Q1
Rock Springs is a small but growing city and the 5th-largest in Wyoming, home to roughly 23,962 residents. Rock Springs's drinking water comes largely from the same regional sources that serve Wyoming: Colorado & Missouri headwaters and snowpack.
As elsewhere in Wyoming, the central challenge is colorado river. A headwaters state with Colorado River obligations and irrigation-dominated use.
Wyoming reuses an estimated 3% of its treated wastewater and maintains minimal reuse programs; Rock Springs tracks severe to extreme drought conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale.
Explore the Wyoming profile for statewide context, or dig into the water issues shaping Rock Springs below.
Sweetwater County water quality
Source: EPA SDWIS · 2026 Q1
At a glance
- Population ~23,962 (5th-largest in Wyoming)
- Primary sources: Colorado & Missouri headwaters and snowpack
- Drought: severe to extreme conditions
- State reuse rate: ~3% of wastewater
Statewide drought history
% of Wyoming in severe+ drought (Extreme (D3) now).
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor
Common questions
Is tap water safe in Rock Springs?
Rock Springs's largest water system, ROCK SPRINGS, CITY OF, serves about 24,000 people. EPA records show 0 health-based violation(s) since 2016 and a most-recent 90th-percentile lead level of 3 ppb (EPA action level is 15 ppb). Always check your own provider's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Where does Rock Springs get its water?
ROCK SPRINGS, CITY OF draws primarily from surface water (rivers/reservoirs), part of Wyoming's supply from Colorado & Missouri headwaters, snowpack.
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.
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.
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.
Explore