An initiative of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder

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This photo from December 2021 shows one of the intake towers at Hoover Dam. Federal officials said basin states must conserve 2 to 4 million acre-feet to protect reservoir levels in 2023. CREDIT: HEATHER SACKETT/ASPEN JOURNALISM

Race is on for Colorado River basin states to conserve before feds take action

Seven states in the West have been given until August 15th to implement new strategies and tools to conserve the Colorado River.

Photos: Boulder Creek and Gross Reservoir

This page features photos of Gross Reservoir, Boulder Creek and the creek’s 2013 floods on Colorado’s Front Range. Located in Boulder County, Gross Reservoir was created as a water storage...

Scientists in the East River watershed collect ‘mountains of data’ to understand water in...

In a first-of-its-kind project, scientists will trace snow from where it arrives in the atmosphere, to where it melts into the ground. 
The confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers in the Grand Canyon, shown here in a September 2020 aerial photo from Ecoflight, represents an area where the humpback chub has rebounded in the last decade. That progress is now threatened by declining water levels in Lake Powell, which could lead to non-native smallmouth bass becoming established in the canyon. CREDIT: JANE PARGITER/ECOFLIGHT

Declining levels at Lake Powell increase risk to humpback chub downstream

Low levels and warming waters threaten to increase invasive species in the Colorado River.

Photos: Abiquiu Lake, March 2022

This page in our free multimedia library features photos of Abiquiu Lake, which impounds the Rio Chama in northwest New Mexico. Situated between the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan...
pot that was used to hold water by the Anasazi People photo

Ute Mountain Ute Tribe faces another devastating drought year, but recent rain, wheat prices...

Low snowpack and high temperatures have plagued water supplies in southwest Colorado, but high wheat prices bring hope to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
This Parshall flume on Red Mountain photo.

Pitkin County agrees to fund ditch piping project

The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners has approved funding toward a ditch piping project to keep more water in Hunter Creek.
Toxic waste from uranium pool photo

Two Southwest tribes raise concerns over uranium storage

In Utah, a pool of toxic waste is emitting dangerous amounts of radon to the surrounding communities, including the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
Beach at Barr Lake, where agencies are working to remove toxic algae. May 31, 2022. Credit: Jerd Smith, Fresh Water News

Heading to the lake? Colorado trying new tools, including P-Free lawns, to combat toxic...

Colorado water officials hope to combat algae blooms caused by rising temperatures and an increased use of phosphorus-laced lawn fertilizers.

Colorado River crisis giving tribes new opportunities to right century-old water wrongs

Early involvement in negotiating new Colorado River guidelines will be critical for tribes to determine their future.