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

State officials looking for engagement on updated water plan

State officials are hoping dire climate predictions and water shortages will convince Coloradans to get involved in planning how to share a dwindling resource.
A welcome sign in Price reminds residents to save water, Sept. 30, 2025. Consistent messaging is likely one of the reasons Carbon County has become a leading county for conservation in Utah.

Utah has county-by-county water goals. Which ones are hitting them?

One size fits all. That’s great for hats in the Zion National Park gift shop but not for water conservation goals. So at the start of this decade — and...
Dry agriculture photo

Dust beneath snow: As Colorado reservoirs drop, farmers fear the worst

Reservoirs in the South Platte Basin are full from spring snows, but the rest of the state's storage pools are dangerously low, and farmers are struggling.

Drought threatens coal plant operations — and electricity — across the West

The very plants whose emissions help drive climate change are at risk of shutdowns because the water they need to operate has fallen to unprecedented levels.

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...

Video: Five years after the Gold King Mine spill

Environmental correspondent Laura Paskus revisits the Gold King Mine spill and the destructive impact of the toxic orange plume that went flowing down the Animas and San Juan rivers five years ago.

Colorado is examining water speculation, and finding it’s ‘all the problems’ in one

Water speculation has been sparking debate in Colorado over the last few months.

The Great Drenching

How did California get battered by a relentless barrage of devastating atmospheric river storms despite La Niña?

Report: Estimates of future Upper Colorado River Basin water use confound planning

Some water experts say unrealistic projections make it harder to plan for a future under climate change.

Colorado officials crack down on ponds in Arkansas River basin

State engineers in the Arkansas River basin are beginning to crack down on more than 10,000 ponds without legal water rights, which they say are harming senior rights holders.