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

How a high-elevation irrigation study in Kremmling could help Colorado avoid future water shortages

A group of ranchers is helping scientists learn more about what happens to pastures that receive less irrigation water.

Questions simmer about Lake Powell’s future as drought, climate change point to a drier...

Lake Powell faces demands from stakeholders with different water needs as runoff is forecast to decline due to warmer, drier conditions.

Thirsty future for American West, as “megadrought” grips some of the fastest-growing U.S. cities

By Alexandra Tempus, Fair Warning In 2002, Utah was reeling from four years of dry conditions that turned the state “into a parched tinderbox,’’ as the Associated Press reported at...

Study: $3.2B-plus collaborative water system on South Platte River could work, may signal new...

A study indicates that if Front Range cities band together to build a large-scale water reuse and delivery system, water sufficient to serve 100,000 homes could be developed.
Streets are empty in Central City, with casinos shuttered and hundreds of workers laid off. The pandemic is bad news for the state's new sports-betting tax, which was to have helped fund the Colorado Water Plan. April 21, 2020. Credit: Jerd Smith

New gambling tax revenue forecasts in free fall; cash for water plan in limbo

It’s hard to generate money from a sports-betting tax when COVID-19 has removed athletes from the fields, courts and stadiums where they normally play.

Q&A: former top Interior Department officials assess agency under Trump

The Water Desk spoke with Rebecca Watson and John Leshy, who visited the University of Colorado Boulder campus recently for an armchair debate hosted by the Getches-Wilkinson Center.

Framework for agreements to aid health of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a starting point...

Voluntary agreements in California have been touted as an innovative and flexible way to improve environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the rivers that feed it. The goal is to provide river flows and habitat for fish while still allowing enough water to be diverted for farms and cities in a way that satisfies state regulators.

Major South Platte River basin project would maximize reuse of Western Slope water, report...

A multibillion-dollar reservoir and pipeline project may one day pull more than 50,000 acre-feet of water per year from the South Platte River.

Polis signs five major water bills into law: instream flows, anti-speculating, and more

Colorado enacted five major pieces of water legislation, including providing more water for environmental flows and studying how to limit water speculation.

State demand-management investigation moves ahead

Water managers and experts from across Colorado are investigating the feasibility of a voluntary, temporary and compensated water-use-reduction program.