Lake Powell

It's not clear yet how the money would be distributed among several states in a river basin where political fights and an impasse over how to share water long term have persisted even during historic drought.

A federal hydrologist appeared to be momentarily at a loss for words Thursday as he described how dire the latest forecast has gotten for how much water will flow through the Colorado River Basin this summer.

Widespread drought and fears of a power crisis is forcing the Interior Department to start sending billions of gallons of water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir downstream to prop up Lake Powell.

Large farms in parts of the Colorado River Basin are paying little — and in some cases nothing — for federally supplied water, even as cities and residents are being asked to conserve, according to a new report.

Drought this spring has increased significantly across our region, with some states already hitting the highest levels.

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 river outlet pipes inside Glen Canyon Dam are getting a $9 million repair job, but conservation groups want to see more permanent changes at Lake Powell.

The Bureau of Reclamation released a draft plan for releases from Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back Lake Powell. It's an effort to protect native humpback chub from smallmouth bass.

The nation's second-largest reservoir has been shrinking as drought and steady demand strain the Colorado River. Lake Powell water levels are low, but canyons and ecosystems are emerging.

Cuts to water use along the Colorado River could be spread evenly across some southwestern states, or follow the more than a century-old priority system that currently governs water management. Those are two alternatives federal officials are considering to keep hydropower generation going at the nation’s largest reservoirs according to a draft plan released Tuesday.