Staging version updated 12/5/2023

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

Water flux and toxic wells – Water Buffs Podcast ep. 12 – Kathy James

On this episode of Water Buffs, we examine how drought can harm human health, specifically how dramatic fluctuations in water availability can lead to increasingly toxic water supplies.

Colorado places 9th in national water conservation ranking

A new ranking shows Colorado in ninth place nationwide for its water-saving laws and policies, and in fourth place among states in the Colorado River Basin.

Cash for Grass: Colorado to pay for turf removal, boost water conservation

Colorado has a new turf replacement program that will finance residential areas to switch their yards to more water efficient landscaping.

Farms use 80% of the West’s water. Some in Colorado use less, a lot...

A greenhouse in Colorado is using 95 percent less water to grow food compared to traditional agricultural practices.

Colorado OKs drinking treated wastewater; now to convince the public it’s a good idea

Colorado joins three other states in approving a new rule that clears the way for drinking treated wastewater.

$500M in new federal funds to give thousands of Coloradans freedom from lead, PFAS...

Coloradans exposed to drinking water tainted by lead or so-called “forever chemicals" will see clean water faster.

Maybell project addresses problems for irrigators, boaters, fish

The Maybell Irrigation District and The Nature Conservancy are rehabilitating and modernizing a key headgate and diversion on the Yampa River.

Harvesting water in arid lands – Water Buffs Podcast ep. 11 – Brad Lancaster

Brad Lancaster, author and expert on water harvesting, explains how to make the most of rainfall and greywater to stretch local supplies.
Low-tech irrigation on a cattle ranch near Whitewater, Colo., June 30, 2021. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

A water strategy for the parched West: Have cities pay farmers to install more...

Robert Glennon, professor at the Univeristy of Arizona, proposes a two-pronged approach to help agriculture and the water shortage.
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.