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

Solar water heaters on roof

Why aren’t solar water heaters more popular in the U.S., even in solar-friendly states...

Despite widespread global success and huge opportunity for reducing fossil fuel demand, solar water heating is virtually unheard of in the U.S.

As winter wildfires burn, will they forever alter Colorado’s forests, water?

Fires in the West burn so intensely that they reshape forests, shift tree species and turn calm waterways into devastating mudflows.

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.
NASA researchers in Colorado San Juans photo

Just in time for the holidays, feds offer $500,000 high-tech water contest

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is offering $500,000 for a better tool to measure how much water snowflakes contain.
Clean water act setback 1

After Clean Water Act setback, state to ask lawmakers for new authority

State health officials will request to fast-track authority over streams left unprotected after a 2020 rollback of Clean Water Act.

Scientists in the East River watershed collect ‘mountains of data’ to understand water in...

In a first-of-its-kind project, scientists will trace snow from where it arrives in the atmosphere, to where it melts into the ground. 
Highline Canal photo

Colorado work group fails to reach consensus in anti-speculation report

There's still no consensus about what should be done to prevent investors from profiting off of speculating on the state’s water. 

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.

Scientists seeking answers about Mars look to the Colorado River’s canyons

Ancient rainstorms may have sculpted the red planet, similar to the monsoon rains that helped shape the Southwest’s landscape.

Photos: Lyman Reservoir, Arizona, February 2021

This page features ground-based and aerial photos of Lyman Reservoir, located in Lyman Lake State Park near Springerville, Arizona. By damming the Little Colorado River—a tributary to the Colorado River...