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

Photos: Stewart Mountain Dam and Saguaro Lake, June 2023

This page features aerial photos of Arizona's Stewart Mountain Dam and Saguaro Lake along the Salt River northeast of Phoenix. Stewart Mountain Dam was built from 1928 to 1930 by the Salt...

Photos: All-American Canal, February 2021

This page features aerial photos of the All-American Canal near Winterhaven, California. The All-American Canal begins at the Imperial Dam in southeastern California and flows west—nearly parallel to the California-Mexico...
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.

Data viz: Navajo Lake levels

Last update: September 21, 2022 Percent of total capacity Source: US Bureau of Reclamation

Blue Mesa is threatened by a two-decade-long drought and downstream obligations

Experts say it will take a lot more than one snowy winter to refill the reservoir. 
Greeley No. 2 Canal photo

Special Report: Climate change is sapping Colorado’s water supplies. Can its hallmark water law...

Is prior appropriation up to the task of divvying up the state’s water in an era of increasingly frequent and severe drought conditions?
Hay collecting photo

Report: Colorado River ranch water savings hit 42 percent

Colorado’s high altitude hay meadows could be re-operated to yield more than 40 percent in water savings, according to a new report.
Yampa River photo

Steamboat looks to new program to address high river temperatures

Steamboat Springs is trying to comply with state regulations and also cool down chronically high temperatures in an impaired stretch of the Yampa River.

Survey results: How Washington County residents feel about the Lake Powell Pipeline

A majority of survey respondents said they support the project but don’t want to pay for it and would conserve more water in order to avoid it.

Photos and videos: Green River, October 2020

This page features drone footage and ground-based photos of the Green River, near Moab, Utah, and north of Canyonlands National Park. The Green, which begins in Wyoming's Wind River...