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

Farmers use the majority of Colorado’s water. Shouldn’t they bear the burden of future...

You’ve heard the news: Farmers and ranchers use roughly 80% of the water in Colorado and much of the American West. So doesn’t it make sense that if growers and...

Colorado’s water users are told “use it or lose it.” But is the threat...

In December 2020, the Summit County Open Space and Trails Department bought a 15-acre property with a small pond, three ditches and a well.  Known as the Shane Gulch property,...

Unanswered questions: New Mexico looks to fossil fuel byproduct to ease pressure on freshwater...

Mario Atencio’s family never received a notification that 1,100 barrels of produced water—a byproduct of oil and gas extraction—had spilled on their allotment in February 2019 near Counselor, New...

Using less of the Colorado River takes a willing farmer and $45 million in...

Wyoming native Leslie Hagenstein lives on the ranch where she grew up and remembers her grandmother and father delivering milk in glass bottles from the family’s Mount Airy Dairy. The...

Colorado squeezing water from urban landscapes

Pace of transition has accelerated, deepened and broadened

Renegade rancher

40 million people rely on the Colorado River system for water and power. But after 20 years of drought, the river basin is running low. For the Water Desk,...

New study shows Durango’s water supplies declining dramatically as climate change, drought hit home

A new study finds that Durango can no longer depend solely on direct flow from the Florida and Animas rivers for a reliable supply of water.

Upper Colorado River states add muscle as decisions loom on the shrinking river’s future

Upper basin states seek added leverage to protect their river shares amid difficult talks with California and the lower basin

Stream restoration bill watered down

A bill making it easier for stream-restoration projects to take place has been gutted after stakeholders couldn’t reach an agreement.

Amid a withering drought, New Mexico leaders struggle to plan for life with less...

New Mexico faces tough choices as a dire and historic drought continues and the Rio Grande is unable to give everyone what they want or need.