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The Colorado River has one of the largest natural sediment loads of any large river in the United States. In 1936, Hoover Dam was completed, thereby beginning the filling of Lake Mead and the trapping of the upstream sediment load. In 1963, Glen Canyon Da...

In the Colorado River basin, dewatered rivers are often portrayed as an ecological problem unique to the Lower Basin. But while the dry riverbed of the mainstem Colorado in its delta in northern Mexico may be the most striking example of anthropogenic dew...

Numerous dams and diversion structures have been built along the Colorado River and its tributaries to support this demand for water. These dams create reservoirs for water storage and generate hydroelectricity. Despite their utility to humans, dams have ...

When the compact was signed, negotiators believed that the river would yield more than 15 million acre-feet each year. Right now, the river yields about 12 million acre-feet per year. This is the major pitfall in how we manage the Colorado River.

The St. George, Utah metropolitan area frequently makes appearances at the tops of lists of the fastest growing places in the United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, Washington County, Utah, saw an increase in population between 2010 ...

Working for the first time for a major water resource agency in the arid west exposed Leonard to the challenges and complexities of western water resource development. Growing up in a rural community in the Midwest, she was acutely aware of agricultural p...

With most forecasts pointing toward another below-average winter of precipitation in the Rocky Mountains in 2022/2023 and with total basin-wide reservoir storage now less than 20 maf (less than 17 months of supply at the rate water has been consumed in th...

From the Fleck Blog: As we begin discussing what replaces the soon-to-expire Colorado River operating guidelines, we argue that there are important lessons to be learned from a careful examination of the way the current guidelines have failed us.

It's no wonder that the map from Reclamation’s landmark report, Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study, is often used --- it is clear, easy to read, and depicts many of the key features of the infrastructure by which the Colorado River is mana...

This White Paper is designed to encourage wide-ranging and innovative thinking about how to sustainably manage the water supply, while simultaneously encouraging the negotiators of new agreements to consider their effects on ecosystems.

Water conservation trickles down on two fronts—ecological and political issues surrounding the flow in the river, and what happens when water comes out at the end of the pipelines.

Although one might assume that warming river temperatures downstream from dams might be good for native fishes, the reality is more complex.

Effective water-supply negotiation and river management are best served if Colorado River stakeholders are mindful of the precision and accuracy of the many components of the hydrologic cycle that affect the water supply.

Long-range planning of the water supply provided by the Colorado River requires realistic assessments of the impact of a continuation of the current drought that began in 2000, of extreme future droughts, and the long-term and decline in watershed runoff....

The Upper Colorado River Basin is now caught in a vise. We have fixed commitments under the 1922 compact and a declining supply of water above Lee Ferry. Yet many are still operating under the illusion that the Upper Basin has “unused” entitlement.

River channels change in response to natural and human-caused fluctuations in streamflow and sediment supply. Predicting how the channel might change is an important and challenging part of managing a river system.

An essential question that drives discussion is, “How much water do we need?” The human body must have water to survive, and water is needed to grow crops, but the amount of water used by different societies varies greatly.

This week’s show kicks off National Parks Traveler's coverage of the Colorado River and how its health, or lack of health, impacts Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah.

The Colorado River Basin has experienced incredibly large flood events in the past. Present-day river deposits can be used to understand the size and timing of floods that have happened within the region.

Future consumptive water use is difficult to predict because underlying factors that influence consumptive use—future population growth, irrigation technology and practices, climate, agricultural commodity prices and other factors.

A new white paper is the first of a series of papers to be produced by the Future of the Colorado River Project that explore alternative management strategies for the Colorado River that might provide benefit to water-supply users and to river ecosystems....