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

A Colorado River flows drop and tensions rise, water interests struggle to find solutions...

Experts warn that climate change has rendered old assumptions outdated about what the Colorado River can provide, leaving painful water cuts as the only way forward.

Feds: Colorado River’s Flaming Gorge Reservoir able only to deliver two more emergency water...

As drought and climate change sap the Colorado River, even the water in the Upper Basin’s high-elevation reservoirs isn’t enough to protect the larger system.

As more sanitation districts test wastewater for COVID-19, questions remain on interpreting the data

Wastewater can inform public health departments of new variants in the community, but the data collected is still inconclusive.

Scientists in the East River watershed collect ‘mountains of data’ to understand water in...

In a first-of-its-kind project, scientists will trace snow from where it arrives in the atmosphere, to where it melts into the ground. 
Canmal sediment buildup photo

Glenwood Canyon monitoring project gets funding for second phase

Water managers are dealing with the after effects of fire and mudslides in Glenwood Canyon by continuing a water quality monitoring program. 

The promises and pitfalls of mapping small streams

After nearly 136 years of work, the U.S. Geological Survey still faces problems mapping small streams. Now hikers and lasers are on the solutions menu.

Degrees of warming: How a hotter, thirstier atmosphere wreaks havoc on water supplies in...

Colorado's Pitkin County is grappling with higher temperatures, declining streamflows and drier soils caused by climate change.

High marks and worries on home water conservation: Is Colorado’s effort stalling?

A new analysis of residential water use by Fresh Water News shows Colorado's statewide savings from water conservation in recent years may have stalled out.

Studying the snowpack in a changing climate – Water Buffs Podcast ep. 5 – Noah...

The snowpack is crucial to the West’s water supply, ecosystems and economy. But climate change threatens to make the region’s snowpack thinner and less reliable. We talk to a leading snowpack researcher about how scientists are analyzing the past, present and future of the West’s snow.

The Colorado River is awash in data vital to its management, but making sense...

A major science report that highlights scientific shortcomings and opportunities in the Basin could aid water managers as they rewrite the river's operating rules.