When wildfire burns a high mountain forest, what happens to the snow and runoff?
GREELEY, Colorado – Researchers are studying burned areas high in the Colorado Rockies to see how wildfires affect snow accumulation, snowmelt and water supplies across the West. They’re finding that there’s no simple answer.
‘Divas’ and suckers: The fight to save endangered Colorado River fish
Dams throughout the Colorado River watershed create barriers and alter flows that make life harder for native fish. For decades, millions of dollars have been spent on recovering the river’s fish species on the brink of extinction.
For the West’s drinking water, wildfire concerns linger long after smoke clears
Wildfires don’t just cause problems while they’re burning. For municipal drinking water systems, fires are felt for years after they’re snuffed out.
Western states look to sewers to track next coronavirus outbreak
Right now, there is no reliable way to predict where the next potential coronavirus outbreak will be. But many western states are looking to get a handle on the disease by diving into the sewer.
As Western coal-fired plants close, who gets their water?
CRAIG, Colorado – Coal-fired power plants use millions of gallons of water, but as more of these plants are shut down, what will become of the water they draw from the overallocated Colorado River?
Climate change, and our response to it, is making life harder for desert tortoises
LAS VEGAS – The desert tortoise is well equipped to handle a hot and dry climate, but climate change, and large scale developments are making the land they roam hotter and drier.
With drought plans finished, water managers pause Colorado River negotiations
LAS VEGAS – With the drought contingency plan finished, water managers from across the Southwest recently gathered in Las Vegas to figure out what’s next. Climate change already is restricting the arid region’s water supplies, and there’s little agreement on how to bring balance to the Colorado River Basin.
Historically left out of Western water talks, tribes intend to have greater influence in future
GREELEY, Colo. – Native American tribes have senior rights to about 20% of the water in the Colorado River Basin, but they aren’t using all of it. Some tribal leaders say they intend to exert those water rights, which would have repercussions throughout the Southwest.
As Southwest water managers grapple with climate change, can a ‘grand bargain’ work?
GREELEY, Colo. – A temporary fix to the Colorado River's scarcity problem has turned attention to how to manage the water supply for 40 million people across the Southwest.
Salt shakers: Removing brine from river water causes earthquakes along Utah-Colorado line
MONTROSE, Colo. – The Colorado River has been dammed and diverted for massive cities and large-scale farming, which has led to all kinds of unintended consequences.
On stressed Colorado River, states test how many more diversions watershed can bear
COAL CREEK CANYON, Colo. – The Colorado River is short on water. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at a slate of proposed water projects in the river’s Upper Basin states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Denver Water wants to increase the size of one dam by 131 feet and fill the human-made lake with more water from the headwaters of the Colorado River via a tunnel that traverses the Continental Divide.
‘These are parks’: Signs of life returning to the depleted Colorado River Delta
LAGUNA GRANDE, Mexico – Small restoration sites along the Colorado River are showing scientists and the public what the delta once looked like and the wealth of wildlife it supported.
