Hydropower

In an effort to prop up water levels at Lake Powell, water managers are negatively impacting recreation on Colorado’s biggest man-made lake. 

A federal agency aims to offset rising costs linked to Lake Powell’s inability to produce as much hydropower due to drought.

Water levels could fall so low this winter that the city of Aspemay struggle to generate power, and water owners could see shortages.

The Yampa Valley’s existing coal-fired plants have strong water portfolios that could be used to create green hydrogen or another storage technology called molten salt.

Glen Canyon Dam, climate change and invasive plant species are threatening the Colorado River.

A proposed hydroelectric project on the Little Colorado River shows the tricky trade-offs in transitioning from fossil fuels.

The Colorado River has been dammed, diverted, and slowed by reservoirs, strangling the life out of a once-thriving ecosystem. But in the U.S. and Mexico, efforts are underway to revive sections of the river and restore vital riparian habitat for native plants, fish, and wildlife.

Once criticized for being a profligate user of water, fast-growing Phoenix has taken some major steps — including banking water in underground reservoirs, slashing per-capita use, and recycling wastewater — in anticipation of the day when the flow from the Colorado River ends.

Communities along the Colorado River are facing a new era of drought and water shortages that is threatening their future. With an official water emergency declaration now possible, farmers, ranchers, and towns are searching for ways to use less water and survive.

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?