Aquifer Use

Image Provided by: Nature Conservancy

Aquifer Usage

The Dawson Aquifer and the other aquifers in the Denver Basin (Denver, Arapahoe, and Lamamie-Fox Hills) are all used for domestic supply. Since most of the groundwater in the Denver Basin is considered nontributary and is also not subject to the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation (to learn more about this doctrine, please click the link below), it is a source of water to support growing municipalities in areas with limited surface water, limited tributary alluvial groundwater, limited water rights or a combination of all. (Musgrove et al., 2005)

Prior Appropriation Doctrine

Figure 6. Conceptual block diagram of the Denver Basin aquifer system for developed conditions (Paschke, 2011)

Well Pumping Data

Most of the pumping wells are completed in the bedrock aquifers (85%), and most of the estimated pumping (62%) comes from the alluvial aquifer. (Musgrove et al., 2005)
**Please scroll through the images below to view well pumping data for the Denver Basin and the individual aquifers within the basin**

Resource Management & Allocation

The mounting number of bedrock wells has triggered a significant decline in groundwater levels, which have plummeted by more than 75 meters. In 2007, water levels experienced an annual decline of between 3 and 12 meters. The withdrawal rates from these wells exceed the recharge rate of the Denver Basin, necessitating immediate action to prevent further deterioration.

Hydrologists propose a ray of hope in the form of measures that could potentially reverse this trend and prolong the life of the aquifers. These measures include artificial recharge using imported water, water reuse, stricter watering regulations, well permit restrictions, and other conservation efforts. If implemented effectively, these measures could improve the current situation. (Moore, 2007)