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Much of Douglas County's well water, once thought abundant enough for a century, could be out of reach in 10 to 20 years

Story by Lou Kilzer, Jerd Smith and Burt Hubbard
Photos by Marc Piscotty, Graphics by Michael Hall

Day One

When Keith Lehmann moved to Douglas County in the early 1980s, the last thing he was worried about was water.

He had a well dug into the vast and seemingly inexhaustible Denver Basin, an aquifer that experts said held enough water to fill Lake Erie.

Today, Lehmann's wife, Valerie, hauls dirty clothes into town to a Laundromat. Their home doesn't have enough water to waste on spin cycles.

They can't turn on more than one faucet at a time.

CONTINUE »

Water drops take as much as a month to pass through this length of rock in an aquifer in Douglas County. The dropping water levels in the county's aquifers are a major concern for residents.
FULL GRAPHIC »

About this series
Day two A News poll of 300 people who bought homes in Douglas County in the last two years shows that few were told anything about water supplies from those who sold them their houses. FULL STORY »	Day three Misunderstanding of a "100-year rule" in state law designed to make sure wells don't use too much water each year has led to a false sense of security about the longevity of Douglas County water supplies. FULL STORY »	Day four The plan under study for solving the south metro area's water needs would cost $1 billion and faces technical, legal and political hurdles. FULL STORY »
Online extras
Water calculator How much water does your household use on a daily and monthly basis? MORE »	Drought archives Previous coverage from the Rocky Mountain News on Colorado's water worries. MORE »	Special reports A fight over an irrigation ditch pits rural life against the thirst of a suburb. MORE »