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

Climate Change is making flooding worse: 3 reasons the world is seeing more record-breaking...

Climate change and warming temperatures are exacerbating heavy rainfall and flooding events.

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...

Colorado River Econ 101

By Kurt Repanshek, National Parks Traveler From the high country in Rocky Mountain National Park a muddy flush of water rushes downstream, through western Colorado. It turns left, going south...
Cloud seeding equipment near Winter Park in Colorado photo

Cloud seeding might not be as promising as drought-troubled states hope

Several western states have experimented with cloud seeding to increase precipitation, but it may not be a promising strategy.

Can the Ancient Humpback Chub Hang On in Today’s Grand Canyon?

It has survived invasive predators, too-cold water, poisoning, electro-shocks, and a ginormous dam. Still, the chub persists.

West Slope water managers ask: What authority do the feds have?

Some Colorado water managers are asking what authority the federal government has in the upper basin and which water projects could be at risk.

The Great Drenching

How did California get battered by a relentless barrage of devastating atmospheric river storms despite La Niña?
Elk Creek Marina photo

Blue Mesa Reservoir releases to prop up Lake Powell impacting recreation

In an effort to prop up water levels at Lake Powell, water managers are negatively impacting recreation on Colorado’s biggest man-made lake. 
Lake Powell photo

Working within Colorado River’s 1922 water compact for 21st century focus of annual meeting

Water leaders from each of the Colorado River basin states will soon meet for the annual Colorado River Water Users Association Conference.
Hoover Dam photo

Hydropower’s future is clouded by droughts, floods and climate change – it’s also essential...

As competition for water increases, the way hydropower is managed within regions and across the power grid in the U.S. will have to evolve.