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

Program expanding to map Colorado mountain snowpack

Front Range water providers hope to expand a program that uses a new technology they say will revolutionize water management in Colorado.
Maroon Bells Snowpack

Melting away in a hot drought

The snowpack that 40 million people rely on for water was supposed to provide a bounty this year. Instead, much of it melted away fast and early — part of a long-term trend associated with climate change.

Once a rich desert river, the Gila struggles to keep flowing

Population growth, agricultural withdrawals and climate change have badly diminished the river and threaten its future.

Rio Blanco secures water right for dam-and-reservoir project

A judge has granted a water conservancy district in northwest Colorado a water right for a new dam-and-reservoir project that top state engineers had opposed.

How this spring’s snowpack is stacking up

No joke: April 1 readings were decent across many parts of the West, but some areas are still stuck in a snow drought

Helpful sites for tracking snow and the (subpar) snowpack

There’s no shortage of websites with maps and graphics visualizing snow forecasts and the state of the snowpack.

Aspen joins water managers using new technologies to map mountain snowpack, predict streamflows

As a changing climate renders streamflow predictions less accurate, water managers are turning to new technologies for a clearer picture of what’s happening in their basin’s snowpack.

Why atmospheric rivers can be both harmful and helpful

These "rivers in the sky" can cause catastrophic flooding but are also critical for the West's snowpack
The Crystal River at the fish hatchery just south of Carbondale

Weak 2020 water year comes to a close

What started as a promising water year for Colorado with above-average snowpack ended Sept. 30 with the entire state in some level of drought.

Does cloud seeding work? Scientists watch ice crystals grow inside clouds to find out

Cloud seeding occurs in more than 50 countries, but we still don’t know whether it works.