Cutting back on irrigation
In a pilot project in Colorado, farmers are reducing irrigation on their hay fields and monitoring the results, to learn if they can send more water down the Colorado...
Water managers cope with climate change – Water Buffs Podcast ep. 2 – Cynthia Koehler
Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin talks to Cynthia Koehler, director of the Water Now Alliance, about the many challenges facing water providers and the solutions they are pursuing to make water systems more resilient and sustainable.
Video: Five years after the Gold King Mine spill
Environmental correspondent Laura Paskus revisits the Gold King Mine spill and the destructive impact of the toxic orange plume that went flowing down the Animas and San Juan rivers five years ago.
Alternative plan to Wild and Scenic River designation for upper Colorado River OK’d
The alternative management planning process came about after the BLM in 2007 found that 54 miles of the upper Colorado River were eligible for a federal Wild and Scenic River designation.
As pressure to regulate Yampa River continues, locals raise cash to aid compliance effort
Nearly one year after the state ordered Yampa River water users to begin measuring their diversions from the iconic river, local community groups have raised more than $200,000 to help cash-strapped ranchers and others install the devices needed to comply with the law.
Data vis for water journalism – Water Buffs Podcast ep. 1 – Geoff McGhee
We talk with Water Desk consultant Geoff McGhee about some of the ways that data visualizations can help journalists tell stories about water. We discuss dashboards on our website that allow users to track and analyze data on drought, precipitation, the snowpack and major dams and reservoirs.
Melting away in a hot drought
The snowpack that 40 million people rely on for water was supposed to provide a bounty this year. Instead, much of it melted away fast and early — part of a long-term trend associated with climate change.
Video: Selling water
Should Colorado River water be used to grow alfalfa or subdivisions in the Phoenix metropolitan area?
Wildfires can poison drinking water – here’s how communities can be better prepared
Two environmental engineers argue that communities need to upgrade building codes to keep wildfires from causing widespread contamination of drinking water systems.
Colorado official says demand management program holds water
At the heart of a potential program is a reduction in water use in an attempt to send up to 500,000 acre-feet downstream to Lake Powell to bolster thereservoir and meet 1922 Colorado River Compact obligations.