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

A Colorado River leader who brokered key pacts to aid West’s vital water artery...

Terry Fulp, Regional Reclamation Director, urges continued collaboration and cooperation to meet the river's tough water management challenges ahead

Map: Explore drone, aerial and terrestrial imagery from The Water Desk

Use this interactive map to browse our expanding collection of free-to-use photos and videos captured by drones, planes and ground-based photographers.

Colorado eyes foreclosure against troubled Pueblo water company with $1.4 million in delinquencies

An Arkansas Valley watercompany has left the State of Colorado on the hook for nearly $1.4 million and may face a rare foreclosure proceeding by the Colorado Water Conservation Board as a result.

The surprising connection between West Coast fires and the volatile chemicals tainting America’s drinking...

Manufactured substances known as volatile organic compounds contaminate drinking water around the U.S. — and recent wildfires are making the situation worse.

Degrees of warming: How a hotter, thirstier atmosphere wreaks havoc on water supplies in...

Colorado's Pitkin County is grappling with higher temperatures, declining streamflows and drier soils caused by climate change.
Big beaches are growing, and stabilizing, along the Colorado River in Cataract Canyon just above Lake Powell, like this one captured in early October. A recent study on the secondary economic impacts of a water-use-reduction program intended to deliver more water to Lake Powell found some jobs could be lost across western Colorado.

Study finds small number of jobs lost under demand-management program

A recent study of a Colorado demand-management program found that the benefits would be comparable to the negative secondary impacts.
Canoe at pond without water rights

State officials set sights on ponds without water rights

Colorado officials say ponds without water rights throughout the region are depleting the Colorado River system.

Millions in new taxes approved for West Slope, Front Range water districts

Water won big in Colorado on Election Day as voters in two multi-county districts approved property tax increases to fund water projects and programs.

Aerial imagery: Colorado River and Lake Powell, October 2020

This page features images and footage shot with a GoPro camera during a Lighthawk flight above the Colorado River and Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona. The flight included views...

High marks and worries on home water conservation: Is Colorado’s effort stalling?

A new analysis of residential water use by Fresh Water News shows Colorado's statewide savings from water conservation in recent years may have stalled out.