Is Douglas County Running Out of Water?

Here in Colorado, tons of homes rely on a limited supply of underground aquifers. The Arapahoe aquifer covers approximately 4,700-square miles and ranges in thickness from zero to 400 feet. Its maximum depth is approximately 1,700 feet. Some aquifers that are deep under Douglas County have lost up to six feet of water depth. The local supply wells aren’t producing as they once did. So what does this mean for us? This means that with Colorado’s population growing by 25 people each day, we may need to find a new water source.

The first ever Colorado River water shortage was officially declared in 2021. The Colorado River flows south and west for 1,450 miles. It begins here in Colorado at the Rocky Mountain National Park and flows all the way to the Gulf of California. It supplies water to 40 million people in the west. Therefore, this means that the federal government will put mandatory water cuts in place. This includes some states and even Mexico in 2022. The cause of this shortage leads us back to Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border which has in fact lost 1,075 feet of water. This is the largest reservoir in the United States and it is expected to drop so low that it will not be able to meet the water and energy demands of communities in the west. The reason this affects us is because our basins are connected. Overuse of the Colorado River system, climate change, and drought are endangering the reliability of the water. There is a water sharing agreement which states that New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming are legally obligated to send water downstream to Colorado and other states in the upper Colorado River Basin. Currently, the water sharing agreement is going as planned.