Geography

Farmers, large and small, are beginning to grapple with what the state’s first major groundwater regulation means for them.

As the gap between water supplies and demands narrows in northwestern Colorado, state officials want to ensure that, as best as reasonably can be done, every last drop gets measured and recorded.

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

The downward trajectory for snow carries serious consequences for water supplies, wildlife habitat, wildfire activity and outdoor recreation.

Diane Mitsch Bush, the Democratic candidate for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, pledged cooperation and Lauren Boebert, her Republican challenger, promised to fight — the Front Range, neighboring states and the federal government — to protect Western Slope water.

This year, the first-ever Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan is set to launch, and water officials expect 2020 to bring unprecedented changes to the way the river is run, including cutbacks in water use by some states.

Ruedi Reservoir on Colorado's Fryingpan River is 54% full and at its lowest level in 19 years.

As climate change and overuse reduce water supplies, the gap between “paper water” (the legal right to use water) and “actual water” (what’s available) is widening.

At the heart of a potential program is a reduction in water use in an attempt to send up to 500,000 acre-feet downstream to Lake Powell to bolster thereservoir and meet 1922 Colorado River Compact obligations.

This photo gallery features images shot during a road trip along the Colorado River and two of its tributaries in Colorado: the Blue River and White River. DateApril...