COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Whether cooking, cleaning, or simply caring for our health; life takes water. And in Colorado, our water comes from melting snow that flows into major rivers.
The Colorado River, in particular, is a major water source for Colorado Springs Utilities.
“At this point, about 50 percent of our sources come from the Colorado River, but we can fully reuse those," explained Kim Gortz, Water Resources Manager for Colorado Springs Utilities.
"We can actually serve about 70 percent of our demand from Colorado River sources because of that reuse.”
There is some uncertainty about the future of water from the Colorado River Basin. The Bureau of Reclamation declared a first-ever water shortage on the river in 2022 as levels in Lake Mead fell dramatically following years of lower-than-average flows and overuse by Lower Basin states.
The US Bureau of Reclamation, seven US states, and Mexico that make up the Colorado River Compact are currently negotiating new guidelines for river management as interim guidelines agreed to in 2007 will expire in 2026.
Gortz said Colorado and the other Upper Basin states have always delivered their water obligations to Lake Powell. Nevertheless, Colorado Springs Utilities has taken steps to remove uncertainty about Colorado by diversifying its water sources.
“So, if Colorado River doesn’t produce say one year or whatever, we can go to the Arkansas Basin and rely on some of those sources," she said. "We have a very diverse system for any reason because of the way risks unfold.”
So, how much water do we consume? Every person in a residential household in Colorado Springs consumes an average of 77 daily gallons of water. However, roughly 40 percent of that water usage comes from lawn irrigation.
Colorado Springs Utilities Water Conservation Supervisor Julia Gallucci said customers have dramatically reduced water consumption by following the city's Water Wise Rules.
A Look At The CSU Water Wise Rules
"Water Wise Rules is actually a water waste prohibition," Gallucci explained. "It’s just about eliminating any waste so that we can use most of our water for very efficient uses.”
The rules limit lawn irrigation to three days per week in the morning before 10:00 a.m. or evening after 6:00 p.m.
Gallucci said conservation efforts led to a drop in water usage even as the city's population grew.
“Conservation contributed to a 40 percent decrease in use over the last 20 years even though our population has grown 92 percent,” she said.
Conservation is also interwoven into the city's land use regulation. The updated Uniform Development Code ReTool COS limits the use of turf grass for landscaping to just 25 percent of a lot for new residential development. It's why newer neighborhoods have front lawns that are small or are completely xeriscaped.
Another way that land use can reduce water consumption is by increasing density.
“Density is actually very water efficient," Gortz said. "You can serve more people and more houses in a higher density structure.”
She explained the same 1,000 acre-feet that it would take to serve 600 single-family homes, could also supply around 2,000 taps in urban apartments.
Gallucci warned that conservation is not a cure-all.
“We have saved 40,000 acre feet since 2000 as a community through conservation efforts but in the next 50 years we expect that number to be only 8,000 as possible even with the growing community.”
City leaders are also putting more thought into water sustainability. Council passed a new annexation code in 2023 that requires Colorado Springs Utilities to have at least 128 percent of its annual water usage in storage before it will agree to expand the boundaries.
“What that ordinance is supposed to do is say, here is the buffer in order to approve an annexation,” Gortz explained.
Water storage will play a critical role in water supplies in the future, and so will water reuse.
Woodmoor Water District Manager Jessie Shaffer joined Gortz and Colorado Springs City Councilman Brian Risley for a water panel discussion hosted by the El Pomar Foundation.
During the talk, Shaffer explained how his district has a limited source of water.
“Woodmoor, in particular, we’re 100% dependent upon Denver Basin groundwater.”
That aquifer does not have a natural recharge. So, Woodmoor is collaborating with other local water districts on a new water reuse project called The Loop.
“It takes renewable water supplies that Woodmoor and Donala and others own on Fountain Creek and it’ll actually divert these water supplies off Fountain Creek into the headgate of the Chilcott Ditch," Shaffer said.
The ditch then carries that water from Fountain Creek out to the Calhan Reservoir.
Shaffer said the reservoir is located near the Williams Creek Pump Station owned by Colorado Springs Utilities, and the planned Williams Creek Reservoir.
“From there we treat the water, then we pump it north," Shaffer said. "Cherokee (Metropolitan District) owns a big pipeline called the Sundance Pipeline System which is just north of the Colorado Springs Airport."
The southern terminus for the pipeline is a large storage tank located near the intersection of Marksheffel Road and Tamlin Road.
"The Sundance Pipeline runs north from that point and terminates on the northern side somewhere around Hodgen Road and Black Forest Road.”
Woodmoor discharges effluent from its sanitation district back into Monument Creek, creating a continual loop of water and offering a sustainable model for the future.
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