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

Wyoming’s Colorado River water rights in jeopardy without improved info, official warns

Wyoming’s water chief wants emergency funds for hydrologists to measure flows in the state’s portion of the troubled Colorado River Basin, documentation he said is vital to preserving irrigation...
Ute Water Assistant Manager Greg Williams shows a map where the domestic water provider plans to build Buzzard Creek Reservoir and Owens Creek Reservoir. Cities, conservancy districts, energy companies and private citizens have conditional water rights to build 99 new reservoirs over 5,000 acre-feet on the Western Slope. Photo by William Woody

Colorado has big dreams to use more water from the Colorado River. But will...

The site where Ute Water plans to build Owens Creek Reservoir at 8,200 feet on the Grand Mesa was snow covered by mid-November. The Western Slope’s largest domestic water...

Colorado’s water users are told “use it or lose it.” But is the threat...

In December 2020, the Summit County Open Space and Trails Department bought a 15-acre property with a small pond, three ditches and a well.  Known as the Shane Gulch property,...

Meet The 28-Year-Old Californian Trying To Save The Colorado River

The Colorado River is in crisis — one of the worst in recorded history. For the past several months, the seven states that use Colorado River water have been trying to come up with a plan to keep the river from collapsing. California is the single largest user of Colorado River water, which means that any effort to save the river involves California making some serious cuts. 

Saving a river

In the arid Southwest, where water scarcity often divides competing interests, an innovative approach could become the model for future cooperation. Brad Hicks shows you how a river is being...

Upper Colorado River states add muscle as decisions loom on the shrinking river’s future

Upper basin states seek added leverage to protect their river shares amid difficult talks with California and the lower basin

Diverting the Rio Grande into a grown-over, decades-old canal could cut New Mexico’s water...

New Mexico once again owes Texas a massive water debt, so water managers are considering resurrecting the original purpose of the channel.

Stream restoration bill watered down

A bill making it easier for stream-restoration projects to take place has been gutted after stakeholders couldn’t reach an agreement.

Colorado River farm fallowing pilot moves forward, with approvals slated for next month

Farmers and ranchers in Colorado have submitted proposals to help restore the Colorado River, but the impacts remain uncertain.

High stakes standoff

A high stakes standoff is playing out over how to save the Colorado River. And with the biggest man-made reservoir in America — Lake Mead — running dry, time...