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

Why the second-driest state rejects water conservation

A powerful group that steers Utah’s water policy keeps pushing for costly infrastructure over meaningful conservation efforts.

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...

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...

“A generational historic struggle to regain our water”

The Gila River Indian Community is ensuring that members can use their own resources while helping solve water supply problems in the region.

Photos: Xeriscaping in Phoenix

This page features photos of xeriscaping in Phoenix, Arizona. Xeriscaping is the practice of designing landscapes to reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation. Homeowners can opt for yards filled...

Concerns rise over Grizzly Creek Fire’s impact on Colorado River’s endangered fish downstream

By Heather Sackett The Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon has many people praying for rain. But the very thing that could douse the blaze, which has burned 32,000 acres as...

Drive for nuclear power boosts uranium industry — and tribal health concerns in Southwest

For decades, a Utah uranium mill has sparked debate over whether radioactive contamination threatens human health by getting into the water and the air.

Scientists use cosmic rays to study the snowpack

Extraterrestrial particles offer insights into Earth’s mountain water towers

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.

Streamflows in southern half of upper Colorado River basin declining faster

New climate data shows a north/south split in streamflow declines in the Colorado River Basin.