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

Water trouble in Rio Verde Foothills

An Arizona community may be ground zero for climate change in America. The Colorado River basin is in crisis — its reservoirs are running dry. Brad Hicks shows you...
The confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers in the Grand Canyon, shown here in a September 2020 aerial photo from Ecoflight, represents an area where the humpback chub has rebounded in the last decade. That progress is now threatened by declining water levels in Lake Powell, which could lead to non-native smallmouth bass becoming established in the canyon. CREDIT: JANE PARGITER/ECOFLIGHT

Declining levels at Lake Powell increase risk to humpback chub downstream

Low levels and warming waters threaten to increase invasive species in the Colorado River.

Nine Colorado roundtables submit $20.3B in water project lists, ask for public’s input

Colorado communities have identified projects to help ensure there's enough water for the state's people, farms and wildlife.

Can we save the San Joaquin’s salmon?

The upstream effort to restore a river and its fish.

Colorado water users, environmentalists brace for changes as EPA, Supreme Court weigh wetland rules

The Supreme Court is reevaluating the Clean Water Act's standards for wetland protection, which could affect the health of Colorado waterways.

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.

Special Report: Colorado, New Mexico struggle to save the blistered Rio Grande, with lessons...

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

‘This system cannot be sustained’

This year, tribal nations enter negotiations over Colorado River water.

West Slope water managers ask: What authority do the feds have?

Some Colorado water managers are asking what authority the federal government has in the upper basin and which water projects could be at risk.
Some of the snowmelt flowing in the Blue River as it joins the Colorado River photo

State officials gear up for “difficult conversations” on the Colorado River

The seven U.S. states that share Colorado River water will soon renegotiate water management guidelines.