Featured Story
On a hot and sunny morning in August, a group of nine paddlers pushed their duckies and stand-up paddle boards into the Colorado River at Harky’s boat launch in Palisade.
The goal of the float was to experience and document the river at one of the lowest levels it has ever seen. With flows hovering around 93 cfs, a bathtub...
More from The Water Desk and our partners
Federal plan makes steep Colorado River water cuts to Arizona, California...
The Bureau of Reclamation’s final environmental impact statement leaves the door open for states to come to an agreement on how to share the water—and for legal battles.
Canelo Hills ladies’-tresses grow only in the Southwest’s vanishing ciénegas. Can...
Scientists restore an endangered orchid to Arizona’s desert wetland.
As data centers flood Wyoming, water pollution fouls good faith
Evanston and Wheatland are two of the latest sites to be eyed for thousands of acres of industrial parks expected to employ thousands of workers.
A New Mexico town is running dry. An immigration detention center...
The town of Estancia and the ICE facility are trucking in water until a new well is drilled.
Western Slope lawmakers take Colorado River managers to task
Missed deadlines, threat of litigation, conservation program prompt questions
The Colorado River states are deadlocked and the river is crashing....
A 'wild idea' to defuse the Colorado River Compact's legal time bomb has been kept alive by seasoned observers who believe it could still save the river
From 2019 to 2023, The Water Desk offered grants to support journalists and media outlets covering Western water issues.
Stories produced by our editorial team and partners. Any content produced by The Water Desk is available for free republishing under a Creative Commons license. Please contact other media outlets if you are interested in republishing their stories.
