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

Scientists use cosmic rays to study the snowpack

Extraterrestrial particles offer insights into Earth’s mountain water towers
Senator Beck Basin photo

New dust-on-snow monitoring technology coming to Steamboat lab, expanding a growing snowpack data network

Technology to study the impact of dust on downwind mountain ecosystems in Colorado and Utah will likely be installed in the Rockies this fall.
San Diego has shored up its water supplies by upgrading the All-American Canal, which takes Colorado River water to California's Imperial Valley. TED WOOD

A quiet revolution: Southwest cities learn to thrive amid drought

Southwestern U.S. cities have embraced innovative strategies for conserving and sourcing water in a changing climate.

The Great Drenching

How did California get battered by a relentless barrage of devastating atmospheric river storms despite La Niña?
Ruedi Reservoir on the Fryingpan River photo

Ruedi Reservoir at lowest level in two decades

Ruedi Reservoir on Colorado's Fryingpan River is 54% full and at its lowest level in 19 years.

Questions in North Park as Colorado makes case for new rules to measure water...

As the gap between water supplies and demands narrows in northwestern Colorado, state officials want to ensure that, as best as reasonably can be done, every last drop gets measured and recorded.

Cutting Back

In Diamond Valley, Nevada, farmers are looking to protect their future — and testing the limits of the state’s water laws.
Water diversion photo

Special Report: Inside the toxic link between Colorado’s wildfires and its water

Megafires triggered by drought and climate change have ravaged major Colorado water systems, and recent snowmelt will only make things worse.

Forest Service approves test drilling for Whitney Reservoir site

The U.S. Forest Service approved an application from the cities of Aurora and Colorado Springs for geotechnical drilling in the Homestake Valley, one of the first steps toward building a new dam and reservoir on Homestake Creek.

Local groups voice renewed interest in Crystal River Wild & Scenic designation

Residents of Colorado's Crystal River valley are reviving efforts to protect the upper portion of the river through a federal designation.