Drought

For decades, hydrologists believed most spring snowmelt rapidly enters rivers and streams. But a new study from the University of Utah shows that most of it spends years as groundwater before it spills into reservoirs – new research that could help western water managers and farmers better plan each year.

Drought conditions in the Rocky Mountains could further lower water levels at Lake Powell.

The authors of a new memo say that states need to take shared water cutbacks to manage the Colorado River going forward.

Hydrologists say that hotter temperatures have been drying out soils and vegetation in the west, leading to less water flowing to rivers and streams when snow melts.

The Trump administration's dramatic staffing cuts at federal lands agencies like the Forest Service are causing anxiety in tinder dry New Mexico, where the wildfire threat is already severe this Spring.

Nonfunctional turf replacement is an important tool in Colorado River water conservation, but even its proponents say it is a small part of the bigger picture.

Money from the Inflation Reduction Act has helped save water in the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin. President-elect Trump appears poised to take away funding for those programs.

At the Colorado State University research center in Fruita, researchers are gathering data on water usage, nutrient quality of the crops they grow and even the temperature of the soil two feet underground. All this information is vital for CSU projects that look to make agriculture more efficient in a semi-arid environment.

In Glen Canyon, home to Lake Powell, the shrinking reservoir has revealed areas that were once submerged. These scientists are counting the plants that live there, and have found that they're mostly native.

The federal government is spending nearly $5 million to improve drought monitoring and forecasts in the West, helping states, communities, and farmers better plan and prepare for droughts.