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

Calls grow for statewide water conservation standards; some cities skeptical

With a warming climate continuing to rob streams and rivers of their flows, talk in Colorado has resumed about how to limit growing water demand for residential use.

New California law bolsters groundwater recharge as strategic defense against climate change

State designates aquifers 'natural infrastructure' to boost funding for water supply, flood control, wildlife habitat

Restoring the Colorado River Delta

In Mexico, where the Colorado River approaches the sea with barely a trickle, conservationists are working to restore the natural habitats of the river’s dry delta. Gary Strieker reports...
Construction workers build a single family home in Castle Rock photo

Fast-growing Douglas County communities need more water. Is a controversial San Luis Valley export...

Douglas County commissioners consider spending $10 million to help finance a controversial San Luis Valley farm water export proposal.

Arizona’s future water shock

Smaller cities. Soaring water prices. Scorched desert towns.

Aerial photos and videos: Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, July 2020

This page features images and footage shot with a GoPro camera during a pilot-only Lighthawk flight above Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, along the Colorado River near Las Vegas,...

Arizona’s water supplies are drying up. How will its farmers survive?

By Stephen R. Miller, Food and Water Reporting Project Photography by Bill Hatcher You could almost visit Arizona without noticing it was a farming state. If you flew into Phoenix in an aisle seat,...

Tip sheet: monitoring the West’s snowpack

What’s the current state of the snowpack? How have conditions changed over the season?

Glen Canyon Dam faces its existential moment

PAGE, Ariz. – In the span of U.S. history certain years are turning points, milestones in the nation’s story. 1776. 1865. 1929. 1968. Circumstance and consequence conspire to make...

City water from wilderness

Against fierce opposition, thirsty cities near Denver plan to draw water from Colorado River headwaters in the Holy Cross Wilderness. Jerd Smith reports for The Water Desk. https://vimeo.com/452276811 Length: 2:10 Download script Download...