Increasingly, water in Colorado (and around the West, for that matter) is becoming a fierce battleground with distinct lines drawn in the sand. We see environmentalists and recreationists squaring off against water suppliers; farmers duking it out with so-called “water grabbers”; and, unfortunately, the Front Range pitted against the Western…

In the arid West, the perpetual search for new water supplies, like the mythical search for the Holy Grail, has given rise to numerous fantastical adventures and grand schemes. Some of these have resulted in the impressive feats of engineering that have re-plumbed much of the Colorado River Basin, and…

Here in Colorado, we tend to think of precipitation in discrete, measured amounts: Inches of snow, cubic feet per second, acre feet of water. In an arid region often afflicted by drought, this is an understandable way to perceive our water situation. But if we dig deeper, the issues we…

With the help of schools, businesses and community groups, the Eagle River Watershed Council is in the eighth and final year of community-based restoration along the Eagle River west of Edwards. Beginning in 2008, the Eagle River Restoration Project in Edwards set out to improve the health and function of…

After the lean snow year, we were all getting a bit nervous about what water levels might look like later this summer. But then the rains came. And boy, did they come. It rained. It poured. We all celebrated and then it rained some more. We saw that moisture here…