The Colorado River's 15-Mile Reach is back down to record low flows -- 57 cfs this afternoon, an all-time low for this day in the period of record for this USGS gage.
Luke Runyon
@lukerunyon.bsky.social
Here for watershed moments. Journalist covering water in the western U.S. Co-director of The Water Desk at the University of Colorado’s Center for Environmental Journalism. 📍 Grand Junction, Colorado waterdesk.org
Update: In its new plan for the Colorado River, the Trump administration has spared the Southwest from the harshest water cuts — for now www.latimes.com/environment/...
Trump administration spares Southwest from harshest water cuts in new Colorado River plan
The Trump administration has released a 10-year plan for cutting water use to prop up the Colorado River's reservoirs, which have fallen to a record low.
latimes.com
Photo Friday: Fishing is productive this summer, including at Pathfinder Reservoir, one angler says. But it comes at the cost of historically dry and hot conditions that portend threats to fisheries. wyofile.com/fishing-is-o... #fishing #watercrisis #wyomingnews #wyomingfishing
Central Wyoming anglers, boaters and recreationists got the low water blues - WyoFile
Fishing “is on fire” at Pathfinder Reservoir, one angler reports. But that's partly due to the reservoir shrinking to just 18.7% capacity.
wyofile.com
My take: Feds had a real opportunity to change how the river is managed. Instead they chose to let the states lead, which have proven time again to not be willing to make the permanent, drastic cuts to actually live within the means of a shrinking river. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
A new Colorado River plan requires water cuts for three states. Deeper cuts are still possible.
Arizona, California and Nevada will be required to curb their use of the water from the river by about 20 percent over the next two years, according to three officials.
washingtonpost.com
The effects of last winter’s historic snow drought were easy to see—and feel—during my recent summer road trip through Colorado: smoky skies, depleted reservoirs, and virtually no snow left on a 14er. New photo essay: www.snow.news/p/photo-essa...
Photo essay: The summer legacy of a low-snow winter
A Colorado road trip amid smoky skies, shrinking reservoirs, and the last remnants of the snowpack
snow.news
Sounds like a no-brainer, but... should we allow rivers to have water?
Should new rules for the Colorado River save some water for the river itself?
Environmental advocates argue that new water-sharing rules can and should keep the river flowing for plants, animals, people and infrastructure.
kjzz.org
Supercharged bubbles are threatening Lake Powell’s dam. Federal officials are battling to sustain water levels.
Supercharged bubbles are threatening Lake Powell’s dam. Federal officials are battling to sustain water levels.
The same forces that battered Glen Canyon Dam in 1983 are posing fresh danger as Lake Powell shrinks to historic lows.
coloradosun.com
When Colorado River experts descended on CU-Boulder in June, one high-profile negotiator pointed an accusatory finger at its quads: “There is a metric shit ton of turf grass on this campus.” How Western universities maintain their "oasis-like" feel amid epic drought: waterdesk.org/2026/07/how-...
How universities in the West justify staying green during drought
In early June, water experts gathered at the University of Colorado Boulder to talk about the future of the Colorado River. The lifeline for 40 million people in the Southwest is in dire shape. Too m...
waterdesk.org
NEW: It has been 118 years since the Supreme Court ruled the federal government owes tribes water, but Native American communities in northern Arizona are still fighting for their rights to the Colorado River. With @kjzz.org
Native American Tribes Came Together to Secure Their Rights to Colorado River Water. Four States Are Stalling the Deal.
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are resisting the deal because it would allow the Navajo and Hopi to lease water to cities downstream, likely the growing towns around Phoenix.
propublica.org
“Everybody’s getting free Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute water right now. The seven basin states are all benefiting in the absence of a settlement." www.propublica.org/article/colo...
Native American Tribes Came Together to Secure Their Rights to Colorado River Water. Four States Are Stalling the Deal.
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are resisting the deal because it would allow the Navajo and Hopi to lease water to cities downstream, likely the growing towns around Phoenix.
propublica.org
NOAA once again highlighting a rare, highest-end "extremely critical risk" region today around Four Corners/CO Western Slope for exceptionally adverse fire weather conditions amid severe drought. Numerous lightning holdovers are popping up during unusual summer wind event.
Three federal firefighters killed in Mesa County as Snyder Mesa wildfire exploded in high winds coloradosun.com/2026/06/28/t...
Three federal firefighters killed in Mesa County as Snyder Mesa wildfire exploded in high winds
The firefighters used survival shelters but did not survive when heavy winds caused the fire to blow up on Saturday. Two others were injured.
coloradosun.com
Grim hot megadrought situation out West: “Reservoirs Mead & Powell, the nation’s 2 largest, are approaching levels that would have seemed unimaginable just a generation ago. Now, there is not enough water flowing to meet the needs of the 7 U.S. and 2 Mexican states” apple.news/ALP69m6uqSlC...
A river crisis is unfolding in the American West — National Geographic
The Colorado has been struggling for decades. This summer could bring it to the brink, threatening endangered wildlife and communities.
apple.news
"Springs collectively supply the baseflow that sustains river systems through dry seasons and droughts — the water that keeps a river running when the rains are gone." | The Forgotten Frontlines of Freshwater Conservation springstewardship.substack.com/p/the-forgot...
The Forgotten Frontlines of Freshwater Conservation
Why Springs Are the Quiet Center of the Freshwater World
springstewardship.substack.com
The Colorado River’s endangered fish have become a living proxy of its health. When they struggle, it often means the river itself is struggling. And in 2026, nearly every indicator is flashing red. www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...
A river crisis is unfolding in the American West
The Colorado has been struggling for decades. This summer could bring it to the brink, threatening endangered wildlife and communities.
nationalgeographic.com
In the Rocky Mountains, spring-fed streams and ponds have vanished, leaving patches of cracked mud. This year has been so extremely warm and arid that the mountains have remained largely snowless. The source of the Colorado River is drying up. @rgauth999.bsky.social www.latimes.com/environment/...
'This is terrifying': The Colorado River, a lifeline for seven states, is drying up at its source
The source of the Colorado River in the Rocky Mountains is drying up, threatening a critical water lifeline for about 35 million people and 5 million acres of farmland across the Southwest.
latimes.com
"We live and die by snowpack," says orchardist Bruce Talbott. "We didn't get any this year." @lukerunyon.bsky.social on the crisis facing the Colorado River through the lens of endangered fish recovery and shortages for farming communities. www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...
A river crisis is unfolding in the American West
The Colorado has been struggling for decades. This summer could bring it to the brink, threatening endangered wildlife and communities.
nationalgeographic.com
The 15-Mile Reach in Colorado's Grand Valley, is a section of the Colorado River where agricultural use, municipal demand, and needs for recreation and wildlife converge. And this summer it could fully dry up.
A river crisis is unfolding in the American West
The Colorado has been struggling for decades. This summer could bring it to the brink, threatening endangered wildlife and communities.
nationalgeographic.com
Just how bad is the Colorado River crisis hitting Utah? • The town of Emery will be out of water this week and will need to haul water in. • A small mountain reservoir that usually doesn’t start to release water until early July will be empty by June 29 — Monday. www.sltrib.com/news/environ...
Utah officials warn of ‘totally unprecedented’ water shortages as towns run dry
Streams and wells are running low and dry across Utah while Lake Powell nears a record low. Meanwhile, states still can't agree on how to share the river.
sltrib.com
New Mexico ushers in a new Colorado River negotiator amid stalled state-level policy talks. Tanya Trujillo replaces Estevan Lopez: insideclimatenews.org/news/2306202...
As Colorado River States Struggle to Reach Agreement, New Mexico Brings on a Fresh Voice - Inside Climate News
Upper Colorado River Basin representatives say poor hydrology makes drawdowns from their reservoirs incapable of solving the long-term decline of the river.
insideclimatenews.org
Don’t get me wrong, I love the reflecting pool in DC. It’s iconic. But can we please get the same kind of journalistic rigor for the systems that treat and deliver water we drink and use to grow food?
The last time Lake Powell was this low in early June was in 1967. Lyndon Johnson was president. Glen Canyon Dam had been commissioned just the year before. We hadn't even been to the moon yet.
“The purpose of the meeting really is to determine which political levers should be pulled." Key Republican senators from Utah and Wyoming are figuring out how to leverage their White House relationships to get favorable treatment on the Colorado River: www.eenews.net/articles/key...
Key Utah, Wyoming Republicans plot their next Colorado River move
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee plans to host a strategy meeting Tuesday with leaders from the two states.
eenews.net
Love to hear three of my favorite journalists and writers talk about the Colorado River and public lands on the national airwaves! the1a.org/segments/the...
The state of the nation's public lands
We start with our water.
the1a.org
The U.S. Supreme Court has adopted a settlement designed to end a long-running feud over management of one of North America’s longest rivers -- the Rio Grande.
US Supreme Court settles long-running water dispute over dwindling Rio Grande
The U.S. Supreme Court has adopted a settlement designed to end a long-running feud over management of one of North America’s longest rivers.
apnews.com
🎙️ON AIR We're talking to @nature.org's Celene Hawkins and environmental journalists @cvonka.bsky.social and @lukerunyon.bsky.social about the record-low water levels in the Colorado River basin and what this drought could mean for California. ❓What are your questions about the drought? 📻Listen:
What the Colorado River Drought Means for California | KQED
The Colorado River basin and its two largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, are facing record-low water levels. We talk with environment journalists about what this could mean here in…
kqed.org