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

Tribal water talks

With growing water shortages on the Colorado River, tribal communities are demanding a bigger role in river management and access to water they legally own but have never actually...

Study: $3.2B-plus collaborative water system on South Platte River could work, may signal new...

A study indicates that if Front Range cities band together to build a large-scale water reuse and delivery system, water sufficient to serve 100,000 homes could be developed.

Photos: Gila River, Arizona

This page features imagery of the Gila River in Arizona. Flowing through New Mexico and Arizona, the 649-mile Gila River is a tributary to the Colorado River, though today only...

Long-distance water

There’s desperation in the desert – for communities that could run out of water if the Colorado River keeps shrinking from overuse and climate change. Many are now looking...

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.

A Colorado River flows drop and tensions rise, water interests struggle to find solutions...

Experts warn that climate change has rendered old assumptions outdated about what the Colorado River can provide, leaving painful water cuts as the only way forward.

As pandemic hammers its finances, Vail pulls out of state cloud seeding program

Vail Resorts Inc., one of the largest financial contributors to Colorado’s cloud seeding program, has dropped out this year, leaving a major hole in the program’s budget.
Matilija Reservoir has filled with sediment, allowing grasses to grow on its surface. | Photo: Paul Jenkin (August 2019)

The dam nobody wants just won’t go away

Dams can stop the natural flow of sand and silt to the sea—resulting in coastal wetland loss and disappearing beaches—as well as preventing fish from reaching vital spawning grounds.
Roaring Fork photo 1

Roaring Fork on its way to 100 more acre-feet of flows

Pitkin County took the final step in a years-long effort to get more water into the often water-short upper Roaring Fork River.

Q&A: former top Interior Department officials assess agency under Trump

The Water Desk spoke with Rebecca Watson and John Leshy, who visited the University of Colorado Boulder campus recently for an armchair debate hosted by the Getches-Wilkinson Center.