A man dives into a clear mountain lake from a rocky cliff. The lake is ringed with pine trees.

In “Water Bodies,” Western writers tap into intimate connections to their local waterways

In the arid West, water verbs are often bureaucratic. Rivers, streams and lakes are allocated, decreed, diverted, divided and used. Droplets are distributed to...

‘This system cannot be sustained’

This year, tribal nations enter negotiations over Colorado River water.

Humans are great at giving real problems the side-eye

Two new books provide insights into the willful ignorance that lead to the West’s water woes.

California’s dream has turned into water nightmares

A new book looks at the Golden State’s history to understand its current water crisis.