WATER WORLD
Top things to know about water in Colorado
By Jayme DeLoss | May 4, 2026
IN THE ARID U.S. West, water is scarce, yet it is also essential for growing food, maintaining homes, and sustaining the environment and economy. Colorado’s snowy slopes, trout-filled streams, and frothy rivers draw people to the state – while also providing 18 other states and Mexico with critical water supplies.
Karen Schlatter is director of the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University and says water is why people are here; she wants Coloradans to understand both its value and limitations.
This year, the Colorado Water Center celebrated 60 years as a leading hub of expertise that serves the state through outreach, education, and applied research. The center addresses water quality and access challenges, trains the future water workforce, and works with farmers and ranchers to improve agricultural water management.
In this Q&A, Schlatter shares information about Colorado water that’s of interest to people living in this state – and beyond.
What are the top three things you want Coloradans to know about water?
Schlatter: Water is a critical part of Colorado and the West’s identity. It is what makes our economy thrive, from recreation – fishing, whitewater rafting, hiking, and skiing – to irrigated agriculture to powering our municipalities, businesses, and oil and gas development. Aside from that, it has intrinsic and ecological value. We have iconic snowcapped peaks and rivers that are the lifeblood of Colorado communities and support diverse habitat and wildlife.
Decades of work and billions of dollars went into developing our public and agricultural water systems and getting water to your tap. In Fort Collins, about 50 percent of the water is brought over from the Colorado River through a series of tunnels and is stored in gigantic reservoirs. Even the operation and maintenance costs of the system are immense. Especially in the West, we take for granted that infrastructure and development have taken place over time, and water is extremely cheap for all the effort it takes to get it to your tap. I don’t think a lot of people realize that.
We are experiencing water scarcity and aridification – the drying of the landscape from extended drought – combined with increasing populations and competition for water. Despite that, we have the capacity to solve these issues. We have technology, the political will, and education. We need to bring about change in perspectives and do the work that needs to be done to sustainably manage our water in the West, by first recognizing the different values, needs, and interests.
Schlatter leads a center that is part of a network called the National Institutes for Water Resources. Photo: John Cline / Colorado State University.
Why is Colorado’s snowpack important for our water supply?
Schlatter: The snowpack and our landscape are Colorado’s biggest reservoirs. Colorado is an arid place; some areas in our state receive less than 8 inches of rain a year. The mountains receive the most precipitation in the state in the form of snow – and this snow provides the vast majority of water needed for our homes, businesses, and food production. We’re able to store snowmelt in reservoirs for use year-round. If we weren’t able to do that, we’d have a ton of water in the spring and early summer months, and then we would have very little water for the rest of the year.
How dire is Colorado’s snowpack situation this year?
Schlatter: This has been the worst year for Colorado snowpack in recorded history. As of early April, snowpack is around 15% to 35% of what it would be in a typical year. In addition to not having as much snow this year, we also have had warm temperatures, which impact how much water we’ll see in the spring because if our soils and plants are dry, they’re going to be sucking up that moisture. We’re probably going to see reduced runoff and streamflow.
Colorado is a headwaters state. What does that mean, and why is it significant for water supply and quality?
Schlatter: Colorado’s mountains are the origination point for four major river systems – the Colorado, Rio Grande, Arkansas, and Platte – that provide water to 18 other states and Mexico. So, when our snowpack is bad, we are not the only ones who should be concerned because it has implications for downstream users. We have complex interstate water agreements that dictate the amount of water we need to send to other states. As our water supply has become more variable, those compacts are increasingly challenging to meet.
Additionally, water quality can be an issue. The water is used and reused, with inputs from wastewater treatment plants, industrial use, and agricultural return flows along the way, and contaminants can concentrate in the water. When you get to the end of the system, you can have some significant water quality issues that we’re working to help mitigate. Everything that we do with our water here affects people downstream.
Horsetooth Reservoir west of Fort Collins is part of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, which diverts water from the upper reaches of the Colorado River Basin to Colorado’s Front Range. Photo: Joe A. Mendoza / Colorado State University.
What do urban residents need to understand about agricultural water use?
Schlatter: Agriculture uses the most water in the West – around 85% of diversions in Colorado go to agriculture – and with this, agriculture produces the food we eat. This food production is important to our state and nation.
Agricultural water use is more complicated than most people realize. Return flows from agriculture are often a critical part of the water rights system in Colorado. For example, when a farmer upstream irrigates his or her field, some of that water ends up back in the river system or groundwater. Downstream, another farmer will use those same return flows to irrigate their field. If the upstream farmer increases efficiency by applying water directly to crops through more focused irrigation, less water returns to the river and groundwater, which can negatively impact water available for downstream users.
In the South Platte River Basin, we use the same water seven times before it leaves the state. It’s a pretty efficient system, meaning we get a lot of use out of the water, but efficiency does not always equate to conservation or water savings. Using less water in agriculture – not just increasing efficiency – is an important goal, and the challenge comes with ensuring the economics also line up. Unless a farmer changes to a lower-water-use crop that has a robust market, significant water conservation can mean a reduced profit for farmers, so that can require incentives or payments. In Colorado, we’ve been working on irrigation efficiency and water conservation programs for a long time, and there have been significant gains. Understanding farmers’ and producers’ limitations on increasing water conservation in their systems can help alleviate misconceptions and achieve shared goals.
In the West, there is heated debate over allocation of water from the Colorado River Basin because supplies are dwindling and demand is quickly rising. Does Colorado’s Front Range get water from the Colorado River?
Schlatter: Yes. Depending on the year, the Front Range gets about 450,000 to 600,000 acre-feet of water from the Colorado River per year. An acre-foot usually serves two or three households per year. This water is brought over via trans-mountain diversions for municipal, industrial, and agricultural use. The Colorado-Big Thompson Project, which is a series of tunnels, reservoirs, and pipes, brings water from the Colorado River to the northern Front Range. Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins is part of this system, as are Carter Lake near Berthoud and Boulder Reservoir. All the water in Horsetooth Reservoir is Colorado River water.
In Fort Collins, about 50 percent of our water is coming from the Colorado River. That amount varies for other municipalities along the Front Range, depending on when they developed. Newer communities often purchase Colorado-Big Thompson shares, because that is what has been easier to acquire on the market, so they can have a pretty high percentage of water that’s coming from the Colorado River. Older communities, like Greeley – which is one of the oldest in terms of water development – have a more diverse portfolio of local water sources with a smaller percentage coming from the Colorado River.
Illustration: U.S. Geological Survey.
About 40 million people in seven Western states, tribal nations, and Mexico depend on water from the Colorado River Basin, and water from the river is needed to irrigate 5.5 million acres of farmland. These states – Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California – are disputing the allocation of Colorado River water. Why have negotiations broken down?
Schlatter: The law of the river, the Colorado River Compact, was created in a time when there was an abundance of water on the Colorado River, so the amount of water that is allocated to different states and users is more than the average annual flow. And that’s even worse now with climate change and aridification. The point we’re at right now is coming to terms with that new reality. Negotiations have been challenging because there’s a lot at stake – economics, agricultural production, municipal growth. So, we’re seeing people digging in their heels and not being willing to concede much.
But we need to find a pathway forward now. It can’t wait on 20 years of litigation while we are in an emergency management situation year after year, which creates uncertainty and risk, not to mention the uncertainty about the actual outcome of litigation. We need to work together on it now and come to terms with today’s reality.
In light of limited supplies, are we going to have restrictions on our water use?
Schlatter: When you live in an arid region, there’s always the possibility of having restrictions on your water use. That’s inevitable. We’ve had restrictions in the past; we’re going to have them again. That just happens in drought years. Living in a place like Colorado and in other states in the West, the potential for restrictions needs to become more ingrained in our mindset.
Left: Snowpack on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park is an indication of water availability in Northern Colorado and beyond. Right: The Colorado River, shown at Horseshoe Bend in Arizona, serves 40 million people, industry, and 5.5 million acres of farmland in seven Western states, 30 tribal nations, and Mexico. The Colorado River Basin has endured more than two decades of megadrought, prompting hot debate over allocation of its water resources.
Top: Snowpack on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park is an indication of water availability in Northern Colorado and beyond. Bottom: The Colorado River, shown at Horseshoe Bend in Arizona, serves 40 million people, industry, and 5.5 million acres of farmland in seven Western states, 30 tribal nations, and Mexico. The Colorado River Basin has endured more than two decades of megadrought, prompting hot debate over allocation of its water resources.
What are the top uses of water by the average U.S. household?
Schlatter: This varies depending on where you live in the U.S. If you live in the arid West, around 50 percent of annual household water use goes toward watering lawns. The biggest consumer is grass, but this can also include watering trees and gardens. For indoor use, the biggest uses are typically toilets, at about 25 percent of the total, and showers, at about 20 percent, followed by faucets and washing machines.
How can households conserve water?
Schlatter: Some of the easier things homeowners can do to conserve water include installing high-efficiency or low-flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets. In the West, converting grass that you don’t regularly use to native or drought-tolerant plants can be a huge water saver. For example, our house has a side lawn next to our driveway that we never touch except when we mow. Changing that area from Kentucky bluegrass, which uses a lot of water, to native or more drought-tolerant plants can save a lot on irrigation. Fortunately, there are a lot of incentive programs in Colorado municipalities that support water efficiency and conservation and can provide rebates for installing low-flow fixtures in your home or replacing turf with plants that need less water
Photo at top: Karen Schlatter is director of CSU’s Colorado Water Center, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year. Photo: John Cline / Colorado State University.
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