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

New California law bolsters groundwater recharge as strategic defense against climate change

State designates aquifers 'natural infrastructure' to boost funding for water supply, flood control, wildlife habitat

Once ‘paradise,’ parched Colorado valley grapples with arsenic in water

Decades of climate change-driven drought, combined with the overpumping of aquifers, is making the valley desperately dry — and appears to be intensifying the levels of heavy metals in drinking water.

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.

State inspections lag for New Mexico’s primary drinking water source

New Mexico is behind in water inspections for the third year in a row, leaving water quality in question.
Golf course photo

At Peak of Its Wealth and Influence, Arizona’s Desert Civilization Confronts A Reckoning Over...

Arizona’s powerful will to grow is challenged by extreme heat, deep drought, and serious water-related stress.

New era? Western cities using wetland parks, stormwater capture and mobile wastewater collection

Western cities are using new tactics to address shrinking water supplies due to drought and population growth.

In the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, two groundwater sustainability agencies try to...

Agencies in two counties are pursuing different approaches to address overdraft and meet requirements of California’s groundwater law.

Well water throughout California contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’

These chemicals are everywhere. They last forever. They’re expensive to get rid of. And many Californians don’t even know they’re drinking them.

Video: Five years after the Gold King Mine spill

Environmental correspondent Laura Paskus revisits the Gold King Mine spill and the destructive impact of the toxic orange plume that went flowing down the Animas and San Juan rivers five years ago.