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

Photos: Senator Wash and Squaw Lake, February 2021

This page features photos of Senator Wash Reservoir and Squaw Lake along the Lower Colorado River. Located just above Imperial Dam on the California/Arizona border, both Senator Wash and Squaw...

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...
A view of the Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell photo

As Lake Powell dries up, the US turns to creative accounting for a short-term...

A new agreement calls for Western states to leave their drinking water in the reservoir — and act as if they didn't.

Zebra mussels threaten infrastructure and native ecosystems. Colorado is ramping up efforts to detect...

On a bluebird day at West and East Lake in Grand Junction, Maddie Baker throws a plankton tow net into the water, and drags it back to her. “This is...

Tip sheet: monitoring the West’s snowpack

What’s the current state of the snowpack? How have conditions changed over the season?
The South Adams County Water and Sanitation district photo

Colorado health officials investigating contaminated PFAS plume near Denver fire training center

The Colorado health department is investigating a plume causing high levels of forever chemicals in the raw water supply of Adams County.

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.

CD3 candidates agree on protecting Western Slope water, reservoir enlargements

Diane Mitsch Bush, the Democratic candidate for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, pledged cooperation and Lauren Boebert, her Republican challenger, promised to fight — the Front Range, neighboring states and the federal government — to protect Western Slope water.

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
Hydrant photo

Is a hacker targeting your drinking water? COVID-19 exposes problems in Colorado, elsewhere

A cyberattack in Florida has shown that outdated water control technologies have become more exposed to hacking.