colorado river
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Colorado River crisis: Lake Mead, Lake Powell inch closer to ‘dead pool’
In the past 10 days, both Lake Mead on the Arizona-Nevada border and Lake Powell roughly 300 miles northeast on the Utah-Arizona line have recorded their lowest water levels since the reservoirs were first filled. Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir and which supplies water to Nevada, Arizona and California, measured 1,040.4 feet above sea…
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Lake Mead hits historic low water level as Colorado River struggles | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
NEVADA Lake Mead hits new low BOULDER CITY — Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, has plummeted to its lowest water level since it was filled some 90 years ago, another sign of the crisis plaguing the Colorado River system. Water levels at the reservoir, which straddles the Arizona-Nevada border outside Las…
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As Lake Powell shrinks, marinas are having to adapt to dwindling water levels | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
ARIZONA Reservoirs near record lows PAGE — The Colorado River’s Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the U.S., is shrinking. A record-dry winter and extreme heat — as well as decades of overuse, chronic drought and climate change — are threatening to pummel the lake to near historic lows. Low water levels have forced…
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New federal plan sets short-term rules for Colorado River management
Interior Department’s plan spares Colorado from mandatory cuts for now After years of stalled negotiations among the seven states that rely on the Colorado River, the federal government on Friday released its own plan for managing the drought-strained system. Calling it a balanced approach that offers flexibility and predictability, the plan released by the U.S.…
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Colorado is spared mandatory cuts under federal Colorado River proposal
California, Arizona and Nevada to take less water under plan While Colorado has been spared from mandatory reductions, Arizona, California and Nevada would take less water from the Colorado River under a proposal announced Friday by the federal government to stave off crisis in the beleaguered waterway. The proposal from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation…
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Colorado, Nevada water negotiators split on federal 10-year river management plan
Two of the seven Colorado River negotiators weighed in Friday on a decade-long management framework unveiled a day earlier by the federal government. With the seven states along the Colorado River failing to reach an agreement, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is planning to step in with a 10-year framework that would require negotiations every…
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Behind Lake Powell’s low water levels, a canyon is coming back to life
The Colorado River Basin is often described in terms of crisis — drought, warmer climate and failed water-sharing talks. Yet beneath Lake Powell’s retreating shoreline, Glen Canyon is quietly experiencing one of the largest natural restorations in the river’s history. The focus on the Colorado River has centered on the historic drought, overallocation and the…
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Tapped: Colorado River overallocation collides with record drought conditions
Editor’s Note: The Denver metro region sits at the center of one of the American West’s most complex and consequential water challenges. This series examines the interconnected systems that determine how the region secures, stores and conserves its water while navigating the competing demands of fast‑growing urban communities and the increasingly unpredictable mountain snowpack that…
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Gov. Jared Polis, Upper Basin states criticize federal draft plan for managing the Colorado River
With no agreement among the seven Colorado River states, which missed multiple federal deadlines, the Upper Colorado River Commission on Monday sharply criticized the U.S. Department of the Interior’s draft plan for managing the river after the current guidelines expire this year. The critics accused federal officials of exceeding their authority and of relying on…
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Deadlocked: Colorado basin states negotiations collapse
With the Feb. 14 deadline looming, the seven states in the Colorado River Basin failed to reach an agreement on how to manage the river after the 2026 operating guidelines expire later this year. John Entsminger, Nevada’s chief negotiator, said there is no deal in place. “The seven Colorado River Basin states have failed to…