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

Photos and videos: Rio Chama rafting, May 2023

This page features photos and videos from a wilderness rafting trip on the Rio Chama in northern New Mexico. The Rio Chama is a major tributary of the Rio Grande...

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. 

Photos and videos: Twin Lakes, Colorado, March 2021

This page features drone-captured photos and videos of Twin Lakes in central Colorado. The Twin Lakes are alpine lakes near the headwaters of the Arkansas River that were carved by...

As pandemic hammers its finances, Vail pulls out of state cloud seeding program

Vail Resorts Inc., one of the largest financial contributors to Colorado’s cloud seeding program, has dropped out this year, leaving a major hole in the program’s budget.

The Great Drenching

How did California get battered by a relentless barrage of devastating atmospheric river storms despite La Niña?

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.

A mud-caked “terra incognita” emerges in Glen Canyon as Lake Powell declines to historic...

Lake Powell’s delta is the place where the flowing Colorado River meets the stillwater reservoir.

The Other Border Dispute Is Over an 80-Year-Old Water Treaty

With another hot summer looming, Mexico is behind on its water deliveries to the United States, leading to water cutbacks in South Texas. A little-known federal agency has hit a roadblock in its efforts to get Mexico to comply.

Study: Colorado’s water still affordable, but that may change as COVID-19 stresses utilities

Western states are still able to provide relatively affordable water, but that could change as utilities try to recoup losses associated with the pandemic and begin to pay for the massive repairs and upgrades to their systems that were on the drawing board before COVID-19 struck.

Photos: Heron Lake, New Mexico, August 2022

This page features ground-based photos of Heron Lake, a reservoir that stores water for the San Juan-Chama Project in northern New Mexico. Located along Willow Creek, near its confluence with...