°µºÚ±¬ÁÏ

The Water Hub, an organization centered on water justice, led a briefing with a team of panelists to share local solutions as the Colorado River faces historic drought.

The annual Colorado River Water User's Association conference in Las Vegas will be in the spotlight this year, as climate change shrinks water supply.

Federal officials declared a first-ever water shortage for the lower Colorado River, triggering mandatory cutbacks for some users. Ongoing drought across the West, increased demand and the wide-reaching effects of climate change have steadily reduced water levels in the nation’s largest reservoirs. Usage restrictions will begin in January, and are expected to be felt most sharply by farmers in Arizona.

The primary part of the Yampa River is under water usage restrictions for only the second time ever. The move came because less water has been circulating to the lower part of the river, meaning users in that area are not receiving their legally protected share, the Steamboat Pilot & Today reported.

In an open field in Longmont, Colorado, about a dozen people crouched in the tall grass, moving slowly and deliberately through mud that squelched…