Staging version updated 12/5/2023

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

A lush lawn outside a home in a Thornton, Colo. subdivision photo

Turf replacement bill gains ground

Colorado could soon have a program that would pay property owners to get rid of one of the largest water uses for Western Slope water providers: grass.
The East Troublesome Fire burn scar photo

National, local water and fire officials plan new West Slope summit

Colorado water and fire officials plan a two-day confab in Grand Junction to discuss how to protect the state’s vital mountain watersheds.

Rancher grapples with abandonment listing

The Fetcher Ranch, like many in Colorado, is struggling with an abandonment policy that may strip water rights from the land.
The South Adams County Water and Sanitation district photo

Colorado health officials investigating contaminated PFAS plume near Denver fire training center

The Colorado health department is investigating a plume causing high levels of forever chemicals in the raw water supply of Adams County.

Photos: Morrow Point Dam, December 2020

This page features photos of Morrow Point Dam and the Gunnison River on Colorado's Western Slope. Constructed from 1963 to 1968, Morrow Point is 469 feet tall and was the...
Morrisania Mesa Ditch photo

Popular ditch inventories remain private despite being publicly funded

Is Colorado’s most precious resource a public good or a private property right?
Greeley No. 2 Canal photo

Special Report: Climate change is sapping Colorado’s water supplies. Can its hallmark water law...

Is prior appropriation up to the task of divvying up the state’s water in an era of increasingly frequent and severe drought conditions?

Photos: Dillon Reservoir aerials, July 2021

This page features drone-captured imagery of Dillon Reservoir in Summit County, Colorado. Created by a 231-foot-tall earth-fill dam, Dillon Reservoir contains over 250,000 acre-feet of water when at full capacity....
A kayaker runs the 6-foot drop of Slaughterhouse Falls on the Roaring Fork River photo

Groups try again to secure water for recreation

Some in Colorado’s recreation community are hoping proposed legislation will result in more water in streams for the benefit of boaters.
inspectors testa new landscape watering system in Castle Rock

Douglas County Commissioners to head to San Luis Valley for water export meetings

Douglas County Commissioners will travel to Colorado’s San Luis Valley to hear public opinions on exporting farm water to the Front Range.