Seven Western states must rewrite the rules of the river and cut water use — before they bleed the critical artery dry.
Bureau of Reclamation
Posted inOctober 29, 2018: When your neighborhood goes BOOM
The precarious plan for the Lake Powell Pipeline
Officials in Utah’s fastest-growing county are obscuring details of what a high-stakes project will cost taxpayers.
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Arizona delays the Colorado River drought agreement
Interests of a few hundred farmers are contributing to postponements in basin-wide plan.
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Why Jon Kyl was chosen to replace John McCain
Amid a reshuffling of Arizona’s political deck, the state’s governor makes a water-driven decision.
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Aspen may stockpile water under its golf course
As climate change looms, towns look to store water without dams.
Posted inJune 11, 2018: Reclaiming the Klamath
Interior revives the push for a higher Shasta Dam
But the state of California and Winnemem Wintu Tribe oppose the project.
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The playground of Lake Powell isn’t worth drowned canyons
Before a writer knew the true cost of Glen Canyon Dam, ‘ignorance was bliss.’
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Oil- and gas-rich counties ask for more federal revenue
A new bill would return money earmarked for Western water projects to mineral-producing counties.
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A new structure for the Interior Department takes shape
A massive shake-up would shed senior staffers and state boundaries. Could it work?
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Interior sends mixed signals on California water project
Without agency approval, the Delta tunnels deal can’t proceed — but conflicting statements make next steps uncertain.
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As sediment builds, one dam faces its comeuppance
Officials at a Colorado reservoir are reckoning with decades of accumulation.
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What is the Bureau of Reclamation?
The Bureau of Reclamation, part of the Interior Department, manages water conservation and delivery, flood control, drought response and rural water projects. It helped Western homesteaders in the early 20th century by providing water to farmers and ranchers through dams, irrigation and reservoirs. Today, it delivers water to one in five farmers in the Western […]
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West Obsessed: On dams and the rebirth of the Elwha
A deep dive into a dismantled dam — and another in the planning stages.
Posted inSeptember 4, 2017: The Elwha, Unleashed
Down with the Glen Canyon Dam?
Activists claim that decommissioning the dam will save water and restore a wild canyon. Are they right?
Posted inSeptember 4, 2017: The Elwha, Unleashed
After its dams came down, a river is reborn
A look at the Elwha unleashed.
Posted inSeptember 4, 2017: The Elwha, Unleashed
Will Utah dam the Bear River?
The Wasatch Front faces drier times and a growing population, threatening the Great Salt Lake.
Posted inSeptember 4, 2017: The Elwha, Unleashed
How farmers can help keep salt out of the Colorado River
The solution to a basin-wide problem may fall to individual irrigators.
Posted inJuly 24, 2017: Down the Dark Mountain
Latest: Delta tunnels plan challenged in court
Agencies weigh in on threatened fish — and get smacked with their first lawsuit.
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Can private money solve public water problems?
As facilities age and public funding declines, private companies may step in.
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Will a dam save the pallid sturgeon, or doom it?
On the Yellowstone River, farmers and conservationists clash over controversial infrastructure.