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

Unclear waters: How pollution, diversions and drought are squeezing the life out of the...

The Arkansas Valley Conduit promises to bring clean drinking water to more residents of southeast Colorado.

Decades later, abandoned mines continue to haunt Colorado’s waterways

According to a 2017 study, there are over 23,000 abandoned mines across Colorado and 1,800 miles of streams that are impaired due to pollutants related to acid mine drainage.

A Colorado River leader who brokered key pacts to aid West’s vital water artery...

Terry Fulp, Regional Reclamation Director, urges continued collaboration and cooperation to meet the river's tough water management challenges ahead

Northwest Colorado ranchers grapple with state requirements to measure, record water use

Irrigators in Northwest Colorado are facing a sea change in how they use their water, and many ranchers are greeting such a shift with reluctance and suspicion.

Building a network for water journalism

The Water Desk is home to a collaborative network of media outlets that cross-publish content related to Western water issues. Members are encouraged to share content, promote one another’s work...

The delicate dance of Dillon Reservoir during spring runoff

Managing how water moves from one side of the Continental Divide to the other requires cautious timing and accurate forecasting.

Diverting the Rio Grande into a grown-over, decades-old canal could cut New Mexico’s water...

New Mexico once again owes Texas a massive water debt, so water managers are considering resurrecting the original purpose of the channel.
A man dives into a clear mountain lake from a rocky cliff. The lake is ringed with pine trees.

In “Water Bodies,” Western writers tap into intimate connections to their local waterways

In the arid West, water verbs are often bureaucratic. Rivers, streams and lakes are allocated, decreed, diverted, divided and used. Droplets are distributed to serve human needs. Scarcity drives...

Supporters say Proposition DD will ‘fund Colorado’s Water Plan,’ but what does that mean?

What kinds of water projects and programs will the ballot measure support?