As a Colorado aquifer runs low, dangerous heavy metals threaten rural communities’ drinking water
In the San Luis Valley, the ongoing megadrought and a record-low snowpack are draining groundwater and increasing its concentrations of toxic metals. There are few protections for residents drinking from private wells.
Apache water
As the Colorado River is impacted by climate change and drought, Native American tribes are helping to find solutions. For The Water Desk, Gary Strieker reports on the Jicarilla...
Cutting back on irrigation
In a pilot project in Colorado, farmers are reducing irrigation on their hay fields and monitoring the results, to learn if they can send more water down the Colorado...
Holding out hope on the drying Rio Grande
Reporting supported with a grant from The Water Desk at the University of Colorado Boulder's Center for Environmental Journalism. Aerial photography support provided by LightHawk.
FAR WEST TEXAS—The year was...
Crop-switching in the megadrought
Farmers in Arizona are hoping that guayule, a hardy plant that produces natural rubber, can become a profitable crop requiring far less water than alfalfa, corn and cotton. Gary...
60 days and counting: Colorado River cutbacks achievable, experts say, as long as farm...
Colorado River Basin states have 60 days to come up with a water reduction plan.
Cities in the West are booming in population. Will they need a lot more...
When researcher Brian Richter set out to take a close look at how big cities in the Western U.S. were adapting to water scarcity, he already knew the story’s...
Uranium cleanup in Moab
After more than a decade of work, a federal cleanup project along the Colorado River in Utah is still removing radioactive uranium tailings that could pose a threat to...
Colorado Water Plan turns five: Is it working?
Drought, growth, climate change, budget cuts, wildfires and competing demands for water are among the challenges facing the Colorado Water Plan.
California will soon have more than 300 data centers. Where will they get their...
A proposed data center in the Imperial Valley would need 750,000 gallons of water a day. Satisfying the thirst of 24 more facilities expected to open in the state will be challenging, experts and officials say.