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

Data viz: Navajo Lake levels

Last update: September 21, 2022 Percent of total capacity Source: US Bureau of Reclamation
Homestake Creek flows from Homestake Reservoir near Red Cliff.

Reservoir-release pilot project in Colorado to test possible compact call

Front Range water providers recently released water stored in Homestake Reservoir to test how to get water downstream to the state line in the event of a Colorado River Compact call.

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.

Colorado activates municipal drought response plan as 2021 water forecast darkens

The State of Colorado has activated the municipal portion of its emergency drought plan for only the second time in history as several cities say they need to prepare for what is almost certainly going to be a dangerously dry 2021.

Potable water needs in southeastern Colorado persist despite Trump veto

For the last two years, Robin Daigle has had to boil her tap water before pouring it in ice cube trays.  She boils tap water if she needs it to...

A treasure hunt for wild springs in Arizona’s desert 

In Arizona, finding water in the wilderness means discovering a source of life. 

Demand management discussions continue amid worsening Colorado River crisis

The crisis on the Colorado River is not waiting for the state of Colorado to develop a program to avoid water shortages.

Photos: Colorado snow drought 2025-2026

This page in our free multimedia library features photos of the low snowpack in Colorado's Rocky Mountains during the 2025-2026 snow drought. This collection includes imagery from Colorado ski areas...

Photos: Granite Reef Underground Storage Project, January 2019

This page features aerial photos of the Granite Reef Underground Storage Project (GRUSP), near Mesa, Arizona. Roughly four miles downstream from the Granite Reef Diversion Dam, the GRUSP is a...
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.