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

Small farmers wait for California’s groundwater hammer to fall

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

Photos: North Lake Powell, October 2022

This page features aerial photos of the northern end of Lake Powell in Utah. Lake Powell is the second-largest reservoir in the nation by capacity and began to fill with...

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...

Judge dismisses several water uses in White River reservoir case

A water court judge has agreed with state engineers and dismissed several of a water conservancy district’s claims for water for a dam and reservoir project in northwest Colorado.

Corporate support for the river

For decades, water managers and environmentalists have worked to keep a critical stretch of the drought-stressed Colorado River healthy enough to support endangered fish. This year, they’re getting a...

New poll: Slim majority supports spending more to protect Colorado’s water

A majority of Colorado voters believe the state should spend more money to protect its water resources, but they’re not willing to support new state taxes to fund the work.
Chimney Hollow Reservoir under construction photo

Two new Colorado River reservoirs are rising on the Front Range, are they the...

Two new water storage projects designed to capture the flows of the Colorado River may represent the end of an era on the river.

Climate change reducing Colorado River runoff

By Kurt Repanshek, National Parks Traveler By mid-century, annual runoff into the Colorado River could be reduced by nearly a third as declining snowpack leads to greater evaporation of snowmelt,...

Feds, 4 Colorado River states unveil draft drought operations plan as 2022 forecast shift

The Bureau of Reclamation and the Upper Basin states have drawn up a proposed framework to create plans to maintain Lake Powell water levels.
A lush lawn outside a home in a Thornton, Colo. subdivision photo

Turf replacement bill gains ground

Colorado could soon have a program that would pay property owners to get rid of one of the largest water uses for Western Slope water providers: grass.