Officials at a Colorado reservoir are reckoning with decades of accumulation.
Bureau of Reclamation
Posted inArticles
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 […]
Posted inArticles
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.
Posted inArticles
Can private money solve public water problems?
As facilities age and public funding declines, private companies may step in.
Posted inArticles
Will a dam save the pallid sturgeon, or doom it?
On the Yellowstone River, farmers and conservationists clash over controversial infrastructure.
Posted inOctober 31, 2016: A Monumental Divide
The fading grandeur of the Glen Canyon Dam
Silt and erosion threaten to clog up the enduring structure.
Posted inArticles
Montana tribe’s water deal clears major Senate milestone
Blackfeet have waited decades to resolve their water claims but Congress is in no hurry.
Posted inArticles
How the feds can ensure Western states get more water in 2016
Key legislation failed in 2015. Will this year be any different?
Posted inOctober 12, 2015: The Rise of Lisa Murkowski
The Colorado River’s desalination plant is on its last legs
The obscure Paradox Valley Unit keeps the Colorado River’s salinity levels in check for farmers, but causes quakes upstream.
Posted inArticles
California drought renews push for water storage projects
A long-standing proposal to enlarge Shasta Dam gets a boost from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Posted inArticles
Lake Mead watch: six inches from the level that triggers cutbacks
If water curtailments go into effect, which states are most vulnerable, and why?
Posted inApril 10, 2015: Strangers in a Strange Land
A wanderer’s guide to Western public lands
Cow patties, extraterrestrials and binoculars can help you figure out where you are.
Posted inArticles
Should the Bureau of Reclamation be abolished?
Former Reclamation Commissioner Daniel Beard tells how defunct water policy, and the bureau itself, contribute to drought.
Posted inFebruary 2, 2015: This Land is Their Land
The Latest: Rio Grande water
A shortfall in water deliveries may lead to more fighting.
Posted inArticles
Cities look to farms for help in Colorado River drought
West’s biggest water agencies finalize a major agreement to boost Lake Mead levels.