Lower precipitation, combined with record high temperatures meant that 96% of the state was in a drought by late August, according to Colorado Water. The CC Groundskeeping team continues to implement strategies such as planting more native plants, using graywater and using more low-flow sprinklers to reduce the campus’s water usage.
The school’s water use has declined sharply over the last decade, according to Director of Facilities, Rick O’Dell. He calculated that current water use is one-sixth of what it used to be in the last decade.
CC Grounds Supervisor, John Nichols, estimates that the campus uses 20 million gallons of water each year to maintain its 100-acre campus. According to Nichols, this water is all reused, nonpotable greywater, which is cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
CC’s reduced water footprint is due, in part, to a conscious effort to integrate more native plants into landscaping plans. These projects include the New Student Orientation Generation Garden, now in its third year, increased use of organic fertilizer, turf aeration, low-flow device replacement and the recently revamped rooftop gardens on the Honnen Arts building and Tutt Library, run by Garden Specialist Mike Spruce.
O’Dell described the “arrogance” of expecting Kentucky bluegrass (the grass used on most lawns in the U.S.) to grow at Rocky Mountain altitude and dry heat. While the grass on Tava quad has to remain for event and gathering purposes, Nichols and the grounds team are integrating native plants around campus, some of which use only a quarter as much water as Kentucky bluegrass.
“Looking forward, drought is not something that is going to be the exception; it’s going to be the norm,” O’Dell said. “John is starting to get ahead of it now because there will come a time when the only water we have is going to be for human consumption.”
“If there’s anything I lose sleep over, it’s water right now,” Nichols said.
More than half the state is experiencing a “D2 severe drought,” and parts of El Paso County are experiencing “D3 Extreme drought” conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Sept. 1. The scope and intensity of drought conditions have increased dramatically across the state since September 2025.
Drought map of Colo. as of Sept. 2, 2025, courtesy of U.S. Drought Monitor
Drought map of Colo. as of Sept. 1, 2026, courtesy of U.S. Drought Monitor
Last December was the warmest in the history of state recordkeeping, almost nine degrees warmer than the average between 1991 and 2020. A warmer winter meant less snowfall and faster-melting snowpacks, which normally feed lakes and rivers as they melt. Colorado State University’s Extension averaged snow water across 115 of its mountain stations and announced that the 2025-26 season had the lowest snowpack in more than 40 years.
Lake Powell, which supplies much of the water used in Lower Basin states (Arizona, California and Nevada), is only about 23% full and is 33 feet from reaching water levels too low to produce hydropower, the Associated Press reported. The failure to reach an agreement on access to the Colorado River—which supplies water to seven states, parts of Mexico and nearly 30 indigenous tribes—earlier this year led states to request federal intervention.
Nevada filed a complaint in August in response to the federal government’s ruling directing that the Lower Basin states needed to reduce their water use by 20% over the next two years, with no such requirements for their northern neighbors. This is only one of many pending water-rights cases in the Southwest. Water shortages impact residents throughout the region as well as Colorado’s $6.4 billion ranching sector and its $2.8 billion agriculture sector, according to data from the Colorado legislature.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reported last week that Colorado Springs has experienced only 7.22 inches of rain since the start of 2026, about 6 inches below average. The CC Grounds team said they will continue to adapt to the changing climate and drought in the state.
“We are well aware of what’s going on, trying to look to the future and get ahead of it,” Nichols said.