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

Photos: Front Range aerials, May 2019

This photo gallery features images shot during a Lighthawk aerial tour of water-related sites along Colorado's Front Range. After departing from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, the flight...
Crystal River photo

Facing drought and increased demands, Colorado communities eye new storage alternatives

Colorado could need 750,000 acre-feet of new water supplies by 2050 for its growing population, but how to store that water isn’t clear.

The Colorado River drought crisis: 5 essential reads

Five articles from The Conversation’s archive explain what’s happening and what’s at stake in the Colorado River basin’s drought crisis.

As budget crisis envelops Colorado government, funding for water programs shrinks

State lawmakers sought to cut $3.3 billion from water programs to compensate for one of the largest deficits in its history.
This Parshall flume on Red Mountain photo.

Pitkin County agrees to fund ditch piping project

The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners has approved funding toward a ditch piping project to keep more water in Hunter Creek.

Aerial imagery: Colorado River and Lake Powell, October 2020

This page features images and footage shot with a GoPro camera during a Lighthawk flight above the Colorado River and Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona. The flight included views...

Maybell project addresses problems for irrigators, boaters, fish

The Maybell Irrigation District and The Nature Conservancy are rehabilitating and modernizing a key headgate and diversion on the Yampa River.

Photos: Colorado River and tributaries, April 2019

This photo gallery features images shot during a road trip along the Colorado River and two of its tributaries in Colorado: the Blue River and White River. DateApril...

Nine Colorado roundtables submit $20.3B in water project lists, ask for public’s input

Colorado communities have identified projects to help ensure there's enough water for the state's people, farms and wildlife.

State officials draft bill on stream restoration

Colorado officials have drafted a bill aimed at addressing a tension between stream restoration projects and water rights holders.