Latest Colorado River News

Ecologist Cassie Mellon motions toward the San Rafael River in Emery County, Utah, Aug. 20, 2024. Like many Colorado River tributaries, the San Rafael’s flow patterns have been dramatically altered by upstream dams and diversions. (David Condos/KUER)

As Utah’s San Rafael River dries, scientists try to give native fish a fighting chance

04-16-2025 by David Condos

The San Rafael River has a problem. As it winds through red rock country northwest of Canyonlands National Park, it increasingly runs dry...

Fox 13

COVID laws trip up plans for a drought declaration in Utah

04-11-2025 by Ben Winslow

SALT LAKE CITY — Troy Henrie ranches near Panguitch and he is seeing the impacts of drought. "We just haven’t got any snow either in the v...

Salt Lake Tribune

March storms have boosted snowpack across the West. Here’s why Lake Powell’s outlook hasn’t improved much.

03-20-2025 by Anastasia Hufham

“It’s not a one-to-one relationship between the amount of snowpack we have and the amount of runoff we get,” a hydrologist said. Storms th...

KUER

Utah approves plan to pay farmers to leave water in the Colorado River

03-20-2025 by David Condos

Utah is launching a plan to pay farmers to leave some of their irrigation water in the Colorado River system. The Colorado River Authority...

Great Salt Lake Collaborative

LDS Church adds water-saving tech to churches

03-14-2025 by Heather May

Editor's note: This story is adapted from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's weekly newsletter, Lake Effect from March 14, 2025. To keep up...

Salt Lake Tribune

Colorado River ‘running out of time’ to improve lagging spring outlook, forecasters say

03-10-2025 by Anastasia Hufham

With spring on the horizon, snowpack in the Rocky Mountains and forecasted inflows for Lake Powell remain below average. Winter is drawing...

KUER

Bill Wolverton stands over the stump of a Russian olive tree he cut down near Utah’s Escalante River, Aug. 21, 2024. When he saw these invasive trees taking over the river’s banks more than two decades ago, he took it upon himself to fight back. (David Condos/KUER)

Utah beat back the Russian olive on the Escalante River. That progress is in peril

03-07-2025 by David Condos

The Russian olive tree doesn’t mess around. It grows aggressively, choking out native plants. It weaves a dense web of branches armed with...

KUER

Utah seems ready to pay farmers to leave more water in the Colorado River

02-23-2025 by David Condos

Fox 13

A resolution in the Utah legislature could impact negotiations over the Colorado River

02-17-2025 by Ben Winslow

Salt Lake Tribune

Snowpack in the Rockies is lagging well below average. Colorado River forecasters still see hope on the horizon.

02-12-2025 by Anastasia Hufham

Salt Lake Tribune

‘Year of uncertainty’: Utah farmers could feel the pinch from Trump’s tariffs, immigration policies

02-12-2025 by Mark Eddington

KUER

Utah farms commonly use wheel line irrigation systems, like the one seen here in Wayne County, Aug. 22, 2024. Making these sprinklers more water-efficient may help farms produce more crops but that doesn’t mean it would save more water for the Colorado River. (David Condos/KUER)

Utah’s big water efficiency push may help farms more than the Colorado River

02-10-2025 by David Condos

St. George News

'More profitable with less water': How flexible use helps this Southern Utah farm to conserve

02-10-2025 by Alysha Lundgren

KUER

Utah’s big water efficiency push may help farms more than the Colorado River

02-06-2025 by David Condos

St. George News

An inside look at Washington County's $1B reuse plan to keep water flowing in the future

02-05-2025 by Mori Kessler

KSL.com

Water flows through the Price River in Utah. Projects to improve the river account for some of the over $100 million that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation directed to drought resiliency projects in Utah and on tribal land in or near the state. Water flows through the Price River in Utah. Projects to improve the river account for some of the over $100 million that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation directed to drought resiliency projects in Utah and on tribal land in or near the state. (The Nature Conservancy)

Feds directed $122.8M in drought spending across Utah. Will it be held up by freeze?

01-29-2025 by Carter Williams

KSL.com

North Wash boat ramp below Cataract Canyon on Sept. 22, 2024. Utah's water agent said Monday that efforts to secure water deals outside of the state are underway, but he said it will be easier said than done. North Wash boat ramp below Cataract Canyon on Sept. 22, 2024. Utah's water agent said Monday that efforts to secure water deals outside of the state are underway, but he said it will be easier said than done. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)

Securing water from out of state will be a 'Herculean' effort, Utah's water agent says

01-28-2025 by Carter Williams

KUER

Farmer Gary Wilson stands in one of his alfalfa fields in Moab, Utah, Sept. 17, 2024. For years, he also farmed the land next to this field, but it has been developed into large homes in recent years.

What swapping crops for houses means for Utah’s water and agriculture future

01-22-2025 by David Condos

St. George News

Virgin River Program juggles diverse ecosystems with fast growing Washington County population

01-17-2025 by Stephanie DeGraw

Salt Lake Tribune

The Rocky Mountains have gotten near-average snow this year. So, why are forecasts for Lake Powell inflows so low?

01-16-2025 by Anastasia Hufham

Great Salt Lake Collaborative

File -- Mark Milligan, with the Utah Geological Survey, takes a photo of a mound formed by the mineral mirabilite on the shores of the Great Salt Lake on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. (Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News)

Our most engaging stories of 2024

12-26-2024 by Becca Green

KUER

Farmer and rancher Coby Hunt stands next to idle irrigation equipment in one of his fields near the town of Green River, Aug. 19, 2024. Utah is launching a new program that will pay producers to leave their fields empty, as Hunt has done, and leave their irrigation water in the Colorado River system. (David Condos/KUER)

Utah wants to shore up its Colorado River share with a water ‘savings account’

12-19-2024 by David Condos

Fox 13

Southern Utah looks to expand water reuse, 'ultra-efficient' landscaping

12-13-2024 by Ben Winslow and Chris Reed

Fox 13

U.S. Supreme Court hears Uinta Basin Railway case and challenge to major environmental law

12-13-2024 by Ben Winslow

KUER

New data could tell us how much of Utah’s water simply disappears into the air

12-10-2024 by David Condos

KUER

Doug Bennett of the Washington County Water Conservancy District points out part of Sunbrook Golf Course that has been converted from grass to desert landscaping, Dec. 3, 2024. Photo by David Condos/KUER

St. George has cut a slice of turf from its golf game — and is eyeing more

12-10-2024 by David Condos

Fox 13

Deep divisions on display at Colorado River summit

12-06-2024 by Ben Winslow

Fox 13

Utah's idea to swap Colorado River water for desalination plant money may not be so crazy after all

12-05-2024 by Ben Winslow

Fox 13

Negotiations moving slowly in new deals governing the Colorado River

12-05-2024 by Ben Winslow

KUER

Agriculture is Utah's biggest water user, but some farmers don’t use any irrigation. One is Shay Lewis, seen here in his field near Monticello, Utah, Aug. 20, 2024. Credit: David Condos, KUER

Think Utah farmers should do without irrigation? Here’s what that looks like

11-26-2024 by David Condos

KUER

As the Colorado River becomes increasingly strained and droughts get more extreme, some farmers and ranchers are experimenting with alternative crops, such as the Kernza grain seen here on Sept. 17, 2024. Credit: David Condos, KUER

How unconventional crops could save water — and reshape Utah farming

11-22-2024 by David Condos

KSL-TV

Drip irrigation systems, like the one seen here at Journey Farm on Sept. 19, 2024, can deliver water to plant roots more efficiently than traditional spray irrigation. Credit: David Condos, KUER

Video: Utah farmers experimenting with alternative crops to save water

11-21-2024 by Mark Wetzel and Shelby Lofton

Deseret News

Updated Video: The fight to save the Colorado River

11-14-2024 by Emma Pitts

Deseret News

Updated Video: The fight to save the Colorado River

11-14-2024 by Emma Pitts

Deseret News

North Wash, a side canyon that has filled in with sediment since the creation of Lake Powell, is pictured where it meets the Colorado River on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Photo essay: The fight to save the Colorado River

11-05-2024 by Kristin Murphy

Deseret News

The fight to save the Colorado River

11-05-2024 by Emma Pitts

Deseret News

A group of river experts, scientists, water rights lawyers, tribal representatives, non-profit representatives, philanthropists and river guides raft down Cataract Canyon on the Colorado River with the Returning Rapids Project on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

The Colorado River is in a custody battle with 7 states

11-04-2024 by Emma Pitts

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