Aurora Water Quality
Understanding what's in your tap water in Aurora, Colorado
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Where Aurora's Water Comes From
Aurora Water draws from the South Platte River basin and supplements its supply through the innovative Prairie Waters Project — one of the most advanced indirect potable reuse systems in the western United States. This facility takes highly treated water that has naturally filtered through the South Platte River alluvium and purifies it to drinking water standards.
The city also holds water rights in multiple mountain reservoirs and receives supplemental supply from the Colorado River basin. Aurora's diversified portfolio reflects the challenge of serving a growing Front Range city with limited local water resources.
How Aurora Treats Its Water
Aurora operates the Binney Water Purification Facility for conventional treatment of surface water — using coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and chloramine disinfection. This plant handles the traditional mountain-sourced supply.
The Prairie Waters Project adds an advanced multi-barrier treatment train that includes ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, reverse osmosis (RO), and activated carbon adsorption. This layered approach is designed to remove pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and other trace contaminants that conventional treatment may not fully address.
The blended finished water receives fluoride for dental health and orthophosphate for corrosion control before entering the distribution system.
What Is the Prairie Waters Project?
Prairie Waters is Aurora's indirect potable reuse system. Rather than discharging treated wastewater and losing that water downstream, Aurora recovers it from the South Platte River alluvium after natural riverbank filtration. The water then undergoes a rigorous multi-barrier treatment process — including UV disinfection, reverse osmosis, and granular activated carbon — before being blended with conventionally treated supply. This approach helps Aurora stretch its water supply while maintaining high purification standards, though it does require ongoing public education about the safety and quality of the finished product.
Common Water Quality Concerns in Aurora
Aurora's water registers between 5-12 grains per gallon (gpg) depending on the source blend, making it moderately to very hard. This is among the hardest municipal water along the Front Range. Hard water contributes to significant scale buildup in water heaters, dishwashers, and plumbing fixtures. White mineral deposits on glassware, shower doors, and faucets are a near-universal experience for Aurora households.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been detected in groundwater near Buckley Space Force Base, where aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) was historically used in firefighting training. While Aurora's municipal drinking water supply is surface water-based and regularly tested, residents near the base — particularly those on private wells — should be aware of potential groundwater contamination. Aurora Water monitors for PFAS and publishes results in its annual water quality report.
The Prairie Waters Project, while technically advanced and fully compliant with drinking water standards, can raise questions among residents unfamiliar with indirect potable reuse. The multi-barrier treatment process (natural filtration, UV, RO, activated carbon) produces water that meets or exceeds the quality of conventionally treated supply. Understanding how the system works can help residents feel confident about the safety of their tap water.
Aurora's distribution system covers a large geographic area with varying infrastructure ages and pressure zones. Water quality can differ noticeably between neighborhoods depending on proximity to treatment facilities, the age of local mains, and which source blend is feeding a particular pressure zone. Residents in newer developments on the eastern edge of the city may receive a different blend than those in older neighborhoods near the original city center.
Hard water is the dominant concern among Aurora residents, with many noting significant scale buildup and the need for water softeners. Taste varies between the east and west sides of the city — likely reflecting different source water blends and distribution paths. Some residents on the western side report a taste profile closer to Denver Water, while eastern neighborhoods occasionally note a slightly different mineral character. Dry skin and hair complaints are common, particularly during winter months when low humidity compounds the effects of hard water.
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Why Test at the Tap?
Aurora Water publishes an annual water quality report confirming that water leaving the treatment facility meets all standards. But it doesn't account for what happens between the water main and your faucet. Given Aurora's distribution system variability and the blending of conventional and Prairie Waters supply, what reaches your tap can differ from what the city-level report describes. Testing at the tap fills the gap that utility-level reporting cannot address.
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