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

As Colorado ramps up PFAS drinking water tests, small towns brace for costly fixes

Renee Hoffman was never thrilled about the water quality at her house in Sleepy Bear Mobile Home Park on the outskirts of Steamboat Springs. “It just didn’t taste great,” she...

Denver Water is halfway through replacing lead pipes. Why didn’t this happen sooner?

On an early morning, a quiet Denver neighborhood was temporarily transformed into a construction zone. A boring machine on the road outside someone’s home pointed a long, thin drill...

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.

Hard water: In these metro neighborhoods, few drink the tap water. Can trust in...

Some Colorado residents have been experiencing drinking water contamination for years. When the water will be safe to drink is unknown.

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.

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.

Some still don’t have a reliable water source near the headwaters of the Colorado...

Residents of a mobile home park near Gunnison are often left without water because of unreliable supplies.

Water and climate change in New Mexico – Water Buffs Podcast ep. 9 – Laura...

We talk to Laura Paskus, a journalist with New Mexico PBS, about her coverage of climate change and water issues in the state.

Paddling the Green River to report on Western water issues – Water Buffs Podcast...

Journalist Heather Hansman floated the Green River to explore water issues in the American West, then wrote a fascinating book about her journey.

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.