Aridification

As the Southwest faces rapid growth and unrelenting drought, the Colorado River is in crisis, with too many demands on its diminishing flow. Now those who depend on the river must confront the hard reality that their supply of Colorado water may be cut off.

The snowpack that 40 million people rely on for water was supposed to provide a bounty this year. Instead, much of it melted away fast and early — part of a long-term trend associated with climate change.

A rapidly warming climate has put the American West in a brutal drought with a hotter and thirstier atmosphere.

With the Southwest locked in a 19-year drought and climate change making the region increasingly drier, water managers and users along the Colorado River are facing a troubling question: Are we in a new, more arid era when there will never be enough water?

In the rural towns around Visalia, drought is a perpetual plight and wells are going dry.

Cities in New Mexico and Colorado are juggling water scarcity concerns over the Rio Grande.

Communities along the Colorado River are facing a new era of drought and water shortages that is threatening their future. With an official water emergency declaration now possible, farmers, ranchers, and towns are searching for ways to use less water and survive.

Journalist Heather Hansman floated the Green River to explore water issues in the American West, then wrote a fascinating book about her journey.

A greenhouse in Colorado is using 95 percent less water to grow food compared to traditional agricultural practices.

The Colorado River has been dammed, diverted, and slowed by reservoirs, strangling the life out of a once-thriving ecosystem. But in the U.S. and Mexico, efforts are underway to revive sections of the river and restore vital riparian habitat for native plants, fish, and wildlife.