Water
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Writers on the Range
When dams were young and gardenias a nickel apiece
Tom Wolf talks to his 90-year-old mother about the Great Depression and the big dams that were built in the West in the 1930s.
by Tom Wolf, Jan 28, 2008 -
Editor's Note
Coming to a farm near you: Los Angeles
In this issue of High Country News, Matt Jenkins dives into the murky world of L.A.’s water system
by Jonathan Thompson, Nov 12, 2007 -
Feature
L.A. Bets on the Farm
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California – the West’s most powerful water agency – uses a shrewd blend of Wall Street tactics and rural diplomacy to keep the water flowing to L.A. and its environs.
by Matt Jenkins, Nov 12, 2007 -
News
A watershed proposal
Colorado's only wild and scenic river may be harnessed for a water storage project.
by James Yearling, Oct 19, 2007 -
Related Stories
Making an effluent market
How will Westerners pay for – and market – their recycled drinking water?
by Peter Friederici, Sep 17, 2007 -
Related Stories
Take back these drugs – please
Some communities are trying to keep discarded pharmaceuticals out of the water supply by organizing “take-back programs” for leftover drugs
by Peter Friederici, Sep 17, 2007 -
Uncommon Westerners
He loves nature. And dams.
Paul Ostapuk is a nature-lover and outdoorsman who loves Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam.
by Jim Rossi, Sep 17, 2007 -
Editor's Note
Effluent, effluent everywhere
A recent turbidity crisis in Paonia resulted in the issuance of a “boil order,” which reminded us locals how precious clean water is in the arid West.
by John Mecklin, Sep 17, 2007 -
Feature
Facing the Yuck Factor
As population growth and climate change stress the region’s water supplies, Westerners think hard about recycling their effluent, although some worry about the possibly harmful endocrine disrupters found in cleaned-up effluent.
by Peter Friederici, Sep 17, 2007 -
News
Pipe dreams
Leaky irrigation ditches in Washington’s Methow Valley have made the desert bloom, at the expense of endangered salmon.
by Eve Rickert, Aug 06, 2007 -
News
Of politics and the river
The last free-flowing river in the desert Southwest, Arizona’s San Pedro, is threatened by an expanding Fort Huachuca and a controversial congressman
by John Dougherty, Aug 06, 2007 -
News
Getting fresh with the West’s groundwater
A new desalination technology uses the sun and your air conditioner to create fresh water.
by Morgan Heim, Jul 19, 2007 -
News
Utah plans to join the Wild and Scenic Rivers System
Utah and Nevada are the only Western states without federally-designated "Wild and Scenic" rivers.
by Abbie Rodriguez, Jul 11, 2007 -
Writers on the Range
Water does move uphill toward money
Lissa James figures that, with so many other get-rich-quick schemers exploiting the West’s need for water, she should have no problem selling her new book, How to Turn Catastrophe into Cash.
by Lissa James, Jul 02, 2007 -
Book Reviews
Big dams, big deal
Big Dams of the New Deal Era: A Confluence of Engineering and Politics is as deep and erudite a tome as it sounds, and yet also a surprisingly good read
by Laura Paskus, Jun 25, 2007






