These hay fields may know something we don’t: how to save the Colorado River
A $1 million science experiment on Colorado hay fields is backed by powerful water groups, farm interests, and environmentalists.
Calls grow for statewide water conservation standards; some cities skeptical
With a warming climate continuing to rob streams and rivers of their flows, talk in Colorado has resumed about how to limit growing water demand for residential use.
Some Western cities offer residents “cash for grass” to reduce irrigation
A study in 2016 showed that lawns are the largest irrigated crop in America.
Colorado OKs drinking treated wastewater; now to convince the public it’s a good idea
Colorado joins three other states in approving a new rule that clears the way for drinking treated wastewater.
Race is on for Colorado River basin states to conserve before feds take action
Seven states in the West have been given until August 15th to implement new strategies and tools to conserve the Colorado River.
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.
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...
Colorado River crisis giving tribes new opportunities to right century-old water wrongs
Early involvement in negotiating new Colorado River guidelines will be critical for tribes to determine their future.
Video story: Cooling the Yampa river (full length)
As climate change brings warmer weather, Westerners are looking for ways to protect the region’s rivers and streams. In a special report for the Water Desk, Jerd Smith of Fresh Water News explains a strategy for safeguarding Colorado’s Yampa River.
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.