Western Water

Six of the seven states that use water from the Colorado River proposed a way for the federal government to cut back on water use and protect dropping water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

The seven states that share the Colorado River face a Tuesday deadline to agree to voluntary water cutbacks, or have federal cuts imposed. Six states have agreed to a plan, but California did not.

Heavy rain and snow could provide a boost to the Colorado River, where the nation's largest reservoirs are shrinking due to 23 years of drought and steady demand. But climate scientists warn that it will take more than one wet winter to end the drought.

As parts of our region face the worst drought in centuries, some states are looking for new ways to create fresh water. One idea that’s gaining interest in the Mountain West is desalination, which involves removing minerals from salty water.

For much of the last fifteen years, a working group in southwest Colorado has been putting together legislation to conserve the Dolores River.

Policymakers from the seven states that use water from the Colorado River gathered in Las Vegas to discuss its future as climate change shrinks supply.

Upper Colorado River basin officials have released details of a conservation program that would pay water users to reduce their use of Colorado River water, with the goal of implementing it as soon as this summer.

As drought and steady demand shrink the Colorado River and Lake Powell, Glen Canyon Dam faces an existential threat. It's a rare example of the Southwest's water crisis made visible.

The Upper Colorado River Commission – comprised of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico – is set to announce details of an extended “System Conservation Pilot Program” through which water users could be paid to cut back on their use.

The Colorado River's foundational agreement is 100 years old this month. And while the document among seven western states was groundbreaking for its time, it's currently left the southwest to grapple with a massive gap between water supply and demand.