Governance

Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin talks to Cynthia Koehler, director of the Water Now Alliance, about the many challenges facing water providers and the solutions they are pursuing to make water systems more resilient and sustainable.

Colorado water quality regulators’ attempt to fast-track new rules shielding streams left unprotected by changes to the Clean Water Act was abandoned earlier this month after it failed to win support from lawmakers.

Though many agricultural interests and water utilities support the new Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, as it is known, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Patrick Pfaltzgraff, director of the state’s Water Quality Control Division, said they will take legal action to protect streams that are no longer subject to federal oversight.

The Water Desk spoke with Rebecca Watson and John Leshy, who visited the University of Colorado Boulder campus recently for an armchair debate hosted by the Getches-Wilkinson Center.

Voluntary agreements in California have been touted as an innovative and flexible way to improve environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the rivers that feed it. The goal is to provide river flows and habitat for fish while still allowing enough water to be diverted for farms and cities in a way that satisfies state regulators.

Water conservation in California’s southern desert is causing an environmental disaster as the Salton Sea quickly shrinks.

Former journalist Nancy Vogel explains how the draft California Water Resilience Portfolio came together and why it’s expected to guide future state decisions

With talks looming on a new operating agreement for the river, a debate has emerged over the best approach to address its challenges.

Several groups are studying demand management, underscoring persistent tensions between the Western Slope and Front Range water managers.

The Colorado Water Conservation Board has decided to hold upcoming workgroup meetings about a potential water-demand management effort in public