Free Colorado water report: PFAS & lead levels for every water system, worst-affected cities, and EPA violations. Check your ZIP.
Colorado's water starts at the top – literally. The state's major rivers originate as snowmelt high in the Rocky Mountains, flowing east to the Front Range cities and west to the Colorado River basin. The state's approximately 5.8 million residents depend on a supply system that moves water across the Continental Divide through tunnels and reservoirs, serving a rapidly growing population concentrated along the I-25 corridor from Fort Collins through Denver to Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) oversees drinking water quality for approximately 2,000 public water systems. Denver Water, the state's largest utility, serves 1.5 million people with water primarily from the South Platte River and Blue River watersheds. Colorado Springs Utilities draws from multiple mountain reservoirs and pipelines. Smaller Front Range communities rely on a mix of surface water, alluvial groundwater, and Denver Basin aquifer wells.
Water quality on the Western Slope tends to be shaped by mining legacy – heavy metals from abandoned mines in the San Juan Mountains and other historic mining districts. On the Front Range, the concerns shift to urban runoff, agricultural contamination from the Eastern Plains, and increasingly, PFAS from military operations.
The EPA's UCMR5 monitoring has confirmed PFAS detections at multiple public water systems in Colorado, with the most significant contamination concentrated in the Colorado Springs area. The Front Range's military density – five major installations within a 30-mile radius of Colorado Springs – creates a contamination footprint that few metro areas in the country can match.
Colorado has been more proactive than many states on PFAS regulation. CDPHE established a PFAS standard for PFOA and PFOS at 70 ppt (combined) as a site-specific standard, though the state has been working to adopt standards that align with or exceed the 2024 federal MCLs. The state also set a groundwater quality standard for PFAS that applies to cleanup actions at contaminated sites.
The Water Quality Control Commission, which sets standards under CDPHE, has been evaluating additional PFAS compounds for potential regulation. Colorado's approach has been to address PFAS through both drinking water and groundwater quality standards – recognizing that contaminated groundwater eventually becomes contaminated drinking water in a state where aquifer dependence is growing.
The Colorado Springs military cluster is the epicenter of PFAS contamination in Colorado. Five major installations are packed into a relatively small geographic area:
Peterson Space Force Base is the most documented PFAS source. The Air Force has confirmed PFAS in groundwater on and around the base from AFFF use. Contamination plumes have reached the Widefield Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to communities south of Colorado Springs including Security, Widefield, and Fountain. These communities have been among the most affected by military PFAS contamination in the country, with some wells taken offline due to elevated PFAS levels.
Schriever Space Force Base, located east of Colorado Springs, has been flagged for PFAS investigation. The remote location limits the number of affected water supplies, but groundwater contamination has been detected.
Fort Carson, the Army's major installation south of Colorado Springs, has confirmed PFAS from firefighting foam use. The base's proximity to Fountain Creek and the communities along it raises concerns about contamination migration.
The US Air Force Academy, north of Colorado Springs, has documented PFAS use and is included in the Department of Defense's investigation program.
NORAD/Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, though less exposed due to its mountain location, is part of the broader military PFAS assessment.
Beyond Colorado Springs, Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora (Denver metro) has also been investigated for PFAS contamination. The Department of Defense has acknowledged contamination at these installations and has provided alternative water supplies to some affected communities. Our military bases page tracks the status of each site.
Colorado has taken a multi-pronged regulatory approach to PFAS. CDPHE's Water Quality Control Division has established drinking water standards, groundwater quality standards, and site-specific cleanup requirements that address PFAS at different points in the contamination pathway.
The state's UCMR5 data has confirmed what targeted testing had already shown: the Colorado Springs area has the state's most significant PFAS contamination, while other parts of the state show lower or undetectable levels in public water supplies.
According to CDPHE's drinking water program, Colorado has approximately 350,000 residents on private domestic wells that are not subject to federal or state testing mandates. In the El Paso County area south of Colorado Springs, where military PFAS plumes are documented, private well owners face potential exposure without routine monitoring.
The state legislature has also been active. Colorado passed legislation requiring PFAS reporting by manufacturers and is developing a broader PFAS action plan that addresses firefighting foam phase-outs, monitoring expansion, and funding for treatment infrastructure.
For background on PFAS health effects and the science behind the standards, see our PFAS guide.
Colorado's PFAS risk is highly location-dependent. The Colorado Springs metro faces the most acute exposure, while most of the state's water systems show lower concern.
1. Check your ZIP code at the homepage to see monitoring data specific to your water system. We compile federal, state, and utility data to give you the most complete picture available. 2. If you are in the Security, Widefield, or Fountain areas south of Colorado Springs, or near any Front Range military installation, a reverse osmosis filter is strongly recommended. Our water filter guide ranks systems by independently verified PFAS removal rates. 3. If you are on a private well in El Paso County, get it tested. PFAS lab tests cost $200-400 and provide data that no public monitoring will give you. 4. Request a detailed water report for your address to see how your area's readings compare to state standards and national averages.
Colorado's mountain snowmelt produces some of the cleanest source water in the nation. What happens to that water before it reaches your tap depends on where you live. Check your specific location to see the data for your area.