Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information about Colorado Springs Utilities’ Water Wise program, which placed limits on outdoor watering starting in 2020.

Despite dealing with the same drought concerns as the rest of the state, Colorado Springs is using more water than normal this year.

Water usage is up 6% from the five-year average and up 2% from the 10-year average, according to Colorado Springs Utilities.

The increase has been driven by the extended heat Colorado Springs has experienced since the winter and the city continuing to add more customers, utility officials say.

The numbers are based on the total volume of water used across the city and include both residential and commercial water users, Utilities spokesperson Jennifer Jordan said.

“We expected some variability because of the weather this summer. Water use will go up the longer it stays hot and dry, so this mapped onto what we expected for water this year,” she said.

In June, the city provided an average of 94 million gallons of water per day, 26% higher than the same month in 2025.

The water comes from Utilities’ storage reservoirs across Colorado. After entering the spring with three years of water supply in storage, Utilities reported that it now has 2.8 years of stored supply.

The increase in water usage is in stark contrast to Colorado’s other major cities, which asked for stricter drought restrictions this year. Denver Water reported that its water demand was 2% below average, which was behind the utility’s goal of a 20% reduction, according to the Colorado Sun.

Aurora Water was on track for a 20% reduction in residential water usage as of mid-July, the Sun also reported.

Colorado Springs’ demand for water has not changed dramatically in the last few decades because of local conservation efforts, City Councilmember and Utilities Board Chairman Dave Donelson said.

Colorado Springs Utilities seeks to restrict water use with the Water Wise limits that have been in place since 2020, including the time-of-day water restrictions that went into effect May 1. Utilities has not issued additional water restrictions because of the drought conditions.

“It all adds up so that, amazingly, we use about the same water now that we did when the population was half of what it is,” Donelson said.

He added that the “monsoon-like” conditions and more frequent rain Colorado Springs has seen in the last two weeks would hopefully help to reduce demand on Utilities.