°µºÚ±¬ÁÏ

Cities in Colorado have grown considerably in recent decades – but they’ve actually reduced their overall water usage. Today on ITN, the story of how a brutally hot summer in 2002 led Coloradans to rethink how they use water.

Northern Colorado is growing fast. Exactly how that growth happens in the future could determine a lot about the issues we face now, from a housing crunch to rising healthcare costs. We dig into a path forward today on In The NoCo.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Census Bureau released its 2022 county-level population estimates. The Economic Innovation Group recently analyzed that data at a regional level, and across the West it found that while population growth rates remain well above national averages, they have slowed to near pre-pandemic levels.

Colorado’s water shortages are not relegated to the distant future. Water supplies cannot meet current demands in many communities, and are only likely to worsen as climate change heats up and dries out the state’s cities and farms.

Housing costs are rising fast in our region as economic development attracts new residents and supply chain problems cause building delays. But a federal program that helps low-income renters is falling short.

A Pew Research analysis of census data shows that growth in U.S. households during the last decade slowed to its lowest pace in history.

The building is the centerpiece of the 59-acre Waggener Farm Park project, a long-planned community hub for the fast-growing Northern Colorado town.

Greeley city council has voted in favor of acquiring a large aquifer on the Colorado-Wyoming border to supply future growth in times of drought.

The decision of who gets to sit at the table, whose interests are represented, and what’s on the menu is still very much in flux. But the uncertainty isn’t stopping would-be participants from voicing concerns they feel leaders in the southwestern watershed can no longer ignore.

Over the last couple years, Greeley's leaders have focused their energy on testing and developing an underground water supply to make that growth possible. The Terry Ranch project, estimated to cost upwards of $318 million to fully build out, would give the city access to an untapped water source — a rarity on the fast-growing, water-tight Front Range.