Bureau of Reclamation

The Colorado River flows through Grand County, Colo. on Oct. 23, 2023. A new draft plan for river management shows that a wet winter and a conservation deal from California, Arizona and Nevada has eased pressure on the region's water policymakers until 2026.

Wet weather and a conservation deal ease some short-term pressure on Colorado River managers

Alex Hager

A new document from the federal government shows how some pressure is lifted from states that use water from the Colorado River until 2026, but bigger challenges lie ahead.

A river flows through a sandy, red Southwestern landscape. Rock formations and shrubs line the water's edge. A blue pink sky looms above.

暗黑爆料

New Colorado River rules will be hard to agree on. A new report shows just how tricky it could be

Alex Hager

A report from the Bureau of Reclamation shows some consensus among water stakeholders but highlights lingering divisions among a diverse pool of water users.

Silhouettes of people unload a boat in the foreground. A reflective stretch of water mirrors the colors of white and red desert rock up above.

暗黑爆料

Feds ease Colorado River cutbacks after positive forecast, but more work remains

Alex Hager

The latest study from the Bureau of Reclamation shows how a wet winter in 2023 helped boost Lake Powell and Colorado River water supplies. But experts say more cuts to demand for the water supply are needed.

Camille Calimlim Touton, commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, speaks at a conference in Boulder on June 8, 2023. She announced that the next round of Colorado River negotiations 鈥� talks designed to come up with more permanent rules for sharing water 鈥� will begin soon.

暗黑爆料

Ahead of new Colorado River talks, governments and tribes weigh in on the future

Alex Hager

After a Colorado River conservation agreement between California, Arizona and Nevada, states and tribes are turning their attention to a new round of pre-2026 negotiations.

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., speaks in Boulder, Colo on Aug. 31, 2022. Neguse is a founding member of a congressional caucus focused on Colorado River issues.

暗黑爆料

Western lawmakers form caucus to talk Colorado River in congress

Alex Hager

A group of congress members from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, California and Arizona is gathering to talk about the Colorado River and rally funding for Western water projects.

Water from the Colorado River fills the Imperial Dam storage complex in California. California officials said the state was not consulted during recent negotiations about a proposal for cutbacks to water use, but other states that use the river's water disagree.

暗黑爆料

Was California consulted in recent Colorado River negotiations?

Alex Hager

California officials say the state was not consulted as others that use water from the Colorado River drafted a six-state agreement to propose cutbacks. Representatives from Arizona, Utah and Colorado disagree.

Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico are asking the federal government to pause some releases from Flaming Gorge Reservoir, which straddles the border between Wyoming and Utah. The reservoir, pictured here in 2021, is the third-largest in the Colorado River system.

Environment

Upper Basin states want to pause some releases from a major Colorado River reservoir

Alex Hager

Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico are asking the Bureau of Reclamation to pause water releases at Flaming Gorge Reservoir, which has been used to help prop up Lake Powell.

Eric Balken, executive director of Glen Canyon Institute, walks along a sandbar once submerged by Lake Powell. As the reservoir drops to record lows, it draws out of areas that were underwater for decades.

暗黑爆料

Lake Powell drops to a new record low as feds scramble to prop it up

Alex Hager

Lake Powell is shrinking as climate change and steady demand cause trouble for states that rely on the Colorado River. The Bureau of Reclamation is scrambling to keep hydropower generators running in Glen Canyon Dam.

The Bureau of Reclamation is considering new measures to reduce the amount of water released from the nation's largest reservoirs, including Lake Mead. The seven states that use the Colorado River are facing a deadline to weigh in on those plans. If they fail to propose a way forward, the federal government could make water cutbacks without their input.

Environment

Federal pressure mounts as states attempt to break Colorado River standoff

Alex Hager

States that use water from the Colorado River are facing a deadline from the Bureau of Reclamation. If they are unable to agree on cutbacks, the federal government could force use reductions as part of a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, or SEIS.

As water levels in Lake Powell keep dropping, some say they could fall too low to pass through Glen Canyon Dam at sufficient levels. Activists are calling for changes to the dam's plumbing to keep enough water flowing to the states that depend on it downstream.

Environment

Feds want the ability to cut back on Colorado River reservoir releases over the next two years

Alex Hager

The Bureau of Reclamation filed a Notice of Intent to propose changes to the amount of water released from Lake Powell and Lake Mead.