Can Colorado do more with less water?
The Colorado Sun is exploring what may or may not be possible in creating water solutions across the state
The Highway 149 bridge between Gunnison and Lake City crosses the inlet of the Gunnison River (unseen) as it enters Blue Mesa Reservoir on September 5, 2025. A below-average snowpack, drought conditions and the release of water from Blue Mesa Dam for downstream use have contributed to severely dropping the water level of the reservoir revealing an extended shoreline in areas normally covered by lake water. (Dean Krakel, Special to The Colorado Sun)
A note from the project’s lead reporter, Michael Booth
The Colorado Sun is embarking on a “solutions journalism” series asking who in the state is doing their share to save precious water. Our solutions-oriented reporting will assess whether specific water conservation projects can free up water at a large scale, or whether local conservation is always overwhelmed by uncontrollable natural conditions or immovable market realities.
The Colorado Sun series “Can Colorado do more with less water?” will create a body of work showcasing what may or may not be possible in creating water solutions across the state. From Akron to Aspen, we’re looking for signs of success or failure that will help lead us to water security.
Stories in this series
What readers wanted to know
In spring 2026 The Colorado Sun launched a survey to know water issues readers wanted us to report on. We heard from more than 400 Coloradans across 40 of the state’s 64 counties. Readers wanted to learn about these topics the most: agricultural water conservation, water supply and water rights.
Here is a sample of questions we heard from around the state:
- “How are household wells being affected by drought and warming climate?” Conifer
- “Why do some ditch companies send so much water back to the river at their end?” Livermore
- “What’s the underground water table levels looking like?” Commerce City
- “What are the projected residential use needs over the next 5, 10, 25, 50 years, and what does the projected supply look like over that time?” Aurora
- “What are golf courses doing in this crisis?” Minturn
- “Should we be evaluating water supply by river basins?” Fort Collins
- “Has climate change caused this dry winter and is this a permanent change?” Vail
- “How will Colorado divide water supply between the West Slope and Front Range?” Boulder
- “How will we get water when there is no water to get?” Denver
- “What are cities doing to conserve water usage?” Colorado Springs
- “What efforts are being made for conservation and/or healthy reuse?” Pueblo
Podcast: Can Colorado Do More With Less Water?
Sponsors
The Colorado Sun thanks our sponsors and funders who have made this water solutions series possible and available to everyone who cares about Colorado. Editorial decisions are made exclusively by journalists and are never influenced by donors, corporate sponsors, or advertisers.
The Colorado Sun is an award-winning news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state — our community — can better understand itself. The Colorado Sun is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. EIN: 36-5082144
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