Issues

Once criticized for being a profligate user of water, fast-growing Phoenix has taken some major steps — including banking water in underground reservoirs, slashing per-capita use, and recycling wastewater — in anticipation of the day when the flow from the Colorado River ends.

The seven U.S. states that share Colorado River water will soon renegotiate water management guidelines.

As climate change and overuse reduce water supplies, the gap between “paper water” (the legal right to use water) and “actual water” (what’s available) is widening.

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.

Scientists have a variety of measures of drought, but some are starting to use the term "aridification" to describe the long-term drying of the Southwest.

The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners has approved funding toward a ditch piping project to keep more water in Hunter Creek.

A new study shows that sedimentation from the Colorado River means that Lake Powell's storage capacity is lower than previously believed.

New Mexico faces tough choices as a dire and historic drought continues and the Rio Grande is unable to give everyone what they want or need.

Seven municipal water providers in the West create a five-point plan to conserve water, but some say it's not enough.

This year, the first-ever Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan is set to launch, and water officials expect 2020 to bring unprecedented changes to the way the river is run, including cutbacks in water use by some states.