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

‘Zero Day’ for California water? Not yet, but unprecedented water restrictions send a sharp...

California’s announcement represents uncharted territory and is meant to promote water conservation in what is already a dry water year.
Parshall Flume photo

State engineers developing measurement rules for water diversions

Colorado officials are preparing for a future with less water by developing rules for users to measure how much they're taking from streams.
Julia Bernal (Sandia, Taos and Yuchi-Creek Nations of Oklahoma) in Sandoval County in the Middle Rio Grande Valley photo

Indigenous feminism flows through the fight for water rights on the Rio Grande

An intergenerational group of Pueblo women lead the way on water policy along the Middle Rio Grande Valley.

Deadline passed

The seven states failed to meet a federal deadline of February 1st to agree on a plan to use less water from the Colorado River. Brad Hicks of the...

Western river compacts were innovative in the 1920s but couldn’t foresee today’s water challenges

Interstate river compacts were an innovative solution 100 years ago – but were written for a West far different from today.
Low water levels Aug. 18 at Dillon Reservoir expose sand rings around the lake's islands.

Dillon Reservoir water levels hold on despite statewide drought

Amid one of the hottest summers on record for Colorado, Dillon Reservoir is 94% full, nearly 5 feet below its capacity. This level of drought has been manageable this year for Denver Water partly because of the 2018-19 winter.
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Video story: When in drought, call the beavers

Beaver reintroduction and restoration can help with some of the West's most profound water problems, both in terms of quantity and quality. A trial program is underway at Caribou Ranch in Boulder County.
Dry agriculture photo

Dust beneath snow: As Colorado reservoirs drop, farmers fear the worst

Reservoirs in the South Platte Basin are full from spring snows, but the rest of the state's storage pools are dangerously low, and farmers are struggling.
After two decades of drought, Lake Mead, which is impounded by Hoover Dam, is just 40 percent full. A “bathtub ring” visible along the edges of the lake show how far its water levels have dropped. PHOTO BY TED WOOD. SUPPORT FOR AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY LIGHTHAWK

Crisis on the Colorado Part II: On a Water-Starved River, Drought Is the New...

With the Southwest locked in a 19-year drought and climate change making the region increasingly drier, water managers and users along the Colorado River are facing a troubling question: Are we in a new, more arid era when there will never be enough water?
Lake Powell's Glen Canyon Dam photo

New forecast: Lake Powell electricity production to drop, as officials race to boost water...

Electricity produced at Glen Canyon Dam has been cut in half by the 20-year drought.