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

Why don’t we just fix the Colorado River crisis by piping in water from...

The Colorado River is a lifeline for about 40 million people across the Southwest. It supplies major cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Denver and a multibillion-dollar agriculture industry...

Cities in the West are booming in population. Will they need a lot more...

When researcher Brian Richter set out to take a close look at how big cities in the Western U.S. were adapting to water scarcity, he already knew the story’s...

Budget-strapped Wyoming towns race for federal funds to fix aging water, sewer systems

Waking up to long-overdue system upgrades, dozens of towns that were awarded federal ARPA dollars may see them "clawed back" for lack of resources to complete paperwork.

Some of Arizona’s most valuable water could soon hit the market 

PARKER, Arizona – South of Headgate Rock Dam, beyond riverbanks lined with willow and mesquite, the broad floodplain of the Colorado River spreads across emerald fields and sun-bleached earth.  The...

Unanswered questions: New Mexico looks to fossil fuel byproduct to ease pressure on freshwater...

Mario Atencio’s family never received a notification that 1,100 barrels of produced water—a byproduct of oil and gas extraction—had spilled on their allotment in February 2019 near Counselor, New...

Searching for solutions: In New Mexico, researchers seek to make brackish water a viable...

Heading through eastern New Mexico, dairy cattle can be seen in farms beside the highway while flashing lights illuminate the wind farms at night. Large sprinklers irrigate the crop...

Does Arizona have enough water? Phoenix-area cities are spending big to make sure it...

Brett Fleck does not have an easy job. He manages water for a city in the desert. He has to keep taps flowing while facing a complicated equation: The...

Using less of the Colorado River takes a willing farmer and $45 million in...

Wyoming native Leslie Hagenstein lives on the ranch where she grew up and remembers her grandmother and father delivering milk in glass bottles from the family’s Mount Airy Dairy. The...

Q&A: Defining the “snow deluge” and projecting its future

Scientist Adrienne Marshall explains why these extreme snow years are expected to decline in our warming world.

The Other Border Dispute Is Over an 80-Year-Old Water Treaty

With another hot summer looming, Mexico is behind on its water deliveries to the United States, leading to water cutbacks in South Texas. A little-known federal agency has hit a roadblock in its efforts to get Mexico to comply.