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

Western Slope Colorado River

Water conservation payments to Colorado ranchers could top $120M; is it enough?

A new economic study suggests that a wide-scale water conservation program in Colorado could cost more than $120 million.

Scientists in the East River watershed collect ‘mountains of data’ to understand water in...

In a first-of-its-kind project, scientists will trace snow from where it arrives in the atmosphere, to where it melts into the ground. 
Pistachio farm photo

Tulare County’s never-ending drought brings dried up wells and plenty of misery

In the rural towns around Visalia, drought is a perpetual plight and wells are going dry.

Hoover Dam approaches a hydropower cliff

Some day in the next 12 months – maybe in late-August, maybe not until next spring – Lake Mead will drop below the critical threshold of 1,035 feet above...

Photos: Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation

This page features aerial and ground-based photos of the Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation near Parker, Arizona. Created by the federal government in 1865, the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT)...

Photos: Bullfrog Marina and Lake Powell, October 2022

This page features aerial and ground-based photos of Lake Powell's Bullfrog Marina in southern Utah. Created by Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell is the second-largest reservoir in the nation by...

Photos: Antelope Point and Lake Powell, May 2021

This page features aerial and ground-based photos of Antelope Point and Lake Powell in northern Arizona. Lake Powell is the second-largest reservoir in the nation by capacity and began to...

Carbondale Ranch, water trust launch 2nd effort to boost Crystal River flows

Cold Mountain Ranch and the Colorado Water Trust penned an agreement to improve the Crystal River’s streamflow and compensate nearby ranchers.
Picuris Pueblo Governor Craig Quanchello photo

Against the flow

Picuris Pueblo says its water has been stolen and shunted over a mountain to the Mora Valley — where irrigators claim rights to it, too.

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.