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

Colorado River crisis — How did the nation’s two largest reservoirs nearly go dry?

Experts cite complicated operating systems, competing government agencies, rigid guidelines and climate change

Climate change is increasing stress on thousands of aging dams across the US

A dam’s design can affect its ability to withstand overtopping and resist failure.

The fun is back at Blue Mesa and other reservoirs, as heavy winter snows...

Southwestern Colorado’s Blue Mesa Reservoir, drained by years of drought and a major release of water designed to aid a plummeting Lake Powell, is experiencing a rebirth this summer.

How well-managed dams and smart forecasting can limit flooding as extreme storms become more...

Here’s what reservoir managers think about during storms, and how efforts to improve forecasting may soon be able to reduce flood damage

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

The Supreme Court just shriveled federal protection for wetlands, leaving many of these valuable...

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that protection of wetlands encompasses only wetlands that adjoin rivers, lakes and other bodies of water.

Colorado River states bought time with a 3-year water conservation deal – now they...

The May 2023 deal staves off an immediate water crisis but does not solve long-term problems in the Colorado River Basin.

Utah’s Suicide Pact With the Fossil Fuel Industry

The state’s fixation on oil and gas development threatens the Colorado River watershed.

The Colorado River drought crisis: 5 essential reads

Five articles from The Conversation’s archive explain what’s happening and what’s at stake in the Colorado River basin’s drought crisis.

Is the Western drought finally ending? That depends on where you look

Even a deep snowpack in the West likely won't be enough to end the drought.