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COLORADO / HUERFANO COUNTY

Walsenburg

Ran dry
Walsenburg, Colorado
Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Population (2020)
3,049
Water cut
March 13, 2026
Cause
infrastructure
Where
37.63°N, 104.78°W

What happened, and when

Every dated water event the register holds for Walsenburg, newest first, each with the sources that document it.

  1. Ran dryon the card

    Ran dry: what happened

    At 2 a.m. on March 13, 2026 a high-flow alarm showed Walsenburg's system losing up to 1,600 gallons a minute: a 12-inch main crossing old coal-mine workings had broken and was draining into the Cucharas River, and more than 9 million gallons, about a month's supply, were lost. Residents were without running water for nearly six days while crews, helped by Denver Water sonar teams, hunted for and repaired the break; schools closed, bottled water was handed out, and the county approved a disaster declaration. Water returned to most homes on March 18 and the last repairs were made on March 25, with a boil advisory still in force.

    • The Gazette (Colorado Springs): 'Unkept promises': Walsenburg closes in on water fix, but long-term issues remain (March 20, 2026)
    • Rocky Mountain PBS: Walsenburg water main break (March 27, 2026)
    • KKTV: The city of Walsenburg still under boil water advisory as officials say a new problem was discovered (March 15, 2026)