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

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: Gila River, Arizona

This page features imagery of the Gila River in Arizona. Flowing through New Mexico and Arizona, the 649-mile Gila River is a tributary to the Colorado River, though today only...

Colorado River farm fallowing pilot moves forward, with approvals slated for next month

Farmers and ranchers in Colorado have submitted proposals to help restore the Colorado River, but the impacts remain uncertain.

Glen Canyon Dam faces its existential moment

PAGE, Ariz. – In the span of U.S. history certain years are turning points, milestones in the nation’s story. 1776. 1865. 1929. 1968. Circumstance and consequence conspire to make...

East Troublesome Fire could cause water-quality impacts for years

The Colorado fire grew 100,000 acres in 24 hours, eventually becoming the second-largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history.
The Colorado River, near Radium, Colorado. Photo by Mitch Tobin

Videos and photos: Colorado River drone flight, August 2019

This page features drone-captured footage and photos of the Colorado River, near Radium, Colorado. The imagery shows the Colorado River after it emerges from Gore Canyon, a popular whitewater rafting...

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

Colorado’s “first-in-time, first-in-right” prior appropriation doctrine is coming under increasing scrutiny as rivers and reservoirs dry out.
This photo from December 2021 shows one of the intake towers at Hoover Dam. Federal officials said basin states must conserve 2 to 4 million acre-feet to protect reservoir levels in 2023. CREDIT: HEATHER SACKETT/ASPEN JOURNALISM

Race is on for Colorado River basin states to conserve before feds take action

Seven states in the West have been given until August 15th to implement new strategies and tools to conserve the Colorado River.

State officials draft bill on stream restoration

Colorado officials have drafted a bill aimed at addressing a tension between stream restoration projects and water rights holders.

The Los Angeles River’s overlooked anglers

Unhoused Angelenos use the urban river as a source of sustenance, but a proposal to revitalize the waterway could push them out.