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

Rio Blanco secures water right for dam-and-reservoir project

A judge has granted a water conservancy district in northwest Colorado a water right for a new dam-and-reservoir project that top state engineers had opposed.
Ritschard dam photo 1

A dam in Grand County is showing an increasing risk of failure, prompting a...

Problems with a Grand County, Colorado dam are turning out to be worse than previously thought, and may be tough to plan for moving forward.

Nine Colorado roundtables submit $20.3B in water project lists, ask for public’s input

Colorado communities have identified projects to help ensure there's enough water for the state's people, farms and wildlife.
Part of the mining operations at the marble quarry as seen from a path above the quarry in September 2021. The quarry operators will have to comply with 10 special conditions as part of their permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Marble quarry must build bridge, culvert and improve stream for Clean Water Act violation

Colorado Stone Quarries must rehabilitate streams they illegally diverted in 2018, but some say even more needs to be done.

Colorado water users, environmentalists brace for changes as EPA, Supreme Court weigh wetland rules

The Supreme Court is reevaluating the Clean Water Act's standards for wetland protection, which could affect the health of Colorado waterways.
Gross Dam aerial. Photo by Mitch Tobin

Photos: Gross Reservoir aerials, May 2019

This photo gallery features images shot during a Lighthawk aerial photo flight over Gross Dam and Reservoir, west of Boulder. Denver Water has proposed raising the dam by 131...

Mobile-home residents stuck in a regulatory roundabout

It's unclear whether a new law could improve water quality in the Eagle River Village park, but legislators want to pressure owners to do more.

Hundreds of comments submitted over Holy Cross Wilderness water export proposal

Forty years after the Holy Cross Wilderness Area was created, an effort to explore tapping its water has generated more than 500 public comments.
The Crystal River at the fish hatchery just south of Carbondale

Weak 2020 water year comes to a close

What started as a promising water year for Colorado with above-average snowpack ended Sept. 30 with the entire state in some level of drought.

Colorado Water Plan turns five: Is it working?

Drought, growth, climate change, budget cuts, wildfires and competing demands for water are among the challenges facing the Colorado Water Plan.