The drought outlook in Colorado is the best it has been in at least 19 years, with the smallest area of the state being listed under some kind of dry status since June 5, 2001. That’s according to nearly two decades of U.S. Drought Monitor data, which has been recorded since 2000. “This is the […]
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Posted inEnvironment, News, Water
Colorado’s drought situation continues to improve, with just 11% of the state under dry conditions
The news just keeps getting better. As the snowpack runoff season begins, Colorado’s drought situation has dramatically improved again. In the past three months, the areas on the drought map marked abnormally dry or worse have shrunk by 88%. On Feb. 12, 92% of the state was under some kind of drought status, including the […]
Posted inColoradans, Environment, Health, News, Water
Tiny Branson has plenty of water. But like other small rural delivery systems in Colorado, it must find a way to meet new state standards.
BRANSON — The remote beauty of the landscape and this rustic town’s time-worn structures harmonize in a traditional rural narrative of self-sufficiency, an up-by-your-bootstraps ranchland culture cradled by a wall of mesas to the south, the Mesa de Maya to the east and, off to the west, the snow-tipped Spanish Peaks. The southernmost town in […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News, Politics and Government, Water
Voters could decide on legal Colorado sports betting in November; tax revenue would go toward state’s water plan
Colorado voters are likely to be asked in November to legalize sports betting and approve a 10 percent tax on net proceeds from the wagering that would mainly go toward paying for the state’s water plan. House Bill 1327 was introduced Thursday afternoon with bipartisan sponsorship. It asks lawmakers to send the legalization and taxation […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Politics and Government, Water
Congress OKs “pain-sharing agreement” to deal with Colorado River drought, starting water-use cuts across seven states
PHOENIX — The diverse, yet unified, politicians from seven states hailing this week’s swift passage of legislation supporting the installation of drought contingency plans to protect the Colorado River have taken the first step in what promises to be a long and painful process. Everyone in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors, Water
Colorado drought levels drop by half in a week; governor declares snowpack is “epic”
Widespread drought across Colorado has improved dramatically in recent weeks, buoyed by a string of strong snowstorms that pounded the entire state this month. The U.S. Drought Monitor reported on Thursday that there are no more extreme or exceptional drought conditions in the state, which plagued the Four Corners region after the dry 2018 winter […]
Posted inEnvironment, Growth, News, Politics and Government, Water
Arizona will miss deadline for Colorado River drought plan that impacts water for millions, officials say
By Jonathan J. Cooper, The Associated Press PHOENIX — Arizona won’t have all the pieces of a Colorado River drought plan finished by the federal government’s deadline to finalize protections for water used by millions across the U.S. West, state water officials said Tuesday. It’s the latest hurdle threatening the plan between seven states to take less water from […]
Posted inEnvironment, Growth, News, Water
Arizona joins Colorado River drought plan just before federal deadline in effort to keep reservoirs from draining too low
By Jonathan J. Cooper, The Associated Press Arizona delivered one of the final puzzle pieces for a Colorado River drought plan, agreeing Thursday to join six other states and Mexico in voluntarily taking less water from the constrained river. The decision to join the drought plan, authorized by lawmakers and Gov. Doug Ducey, went right up to the edge of […]
Posted inEnvironment, Growth, News, Water
Colorado, 5 other Western states are against a deadline for Colorado River drought plan
By Felicia Fonseca, The Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Western states are watching with interest as Arizona comes up against a deadline to approve a plan to ensure a key reservoir doesn’t become unusable for the farmers, cities, tribes and developers that depend on it. The other six states in the Colorado River basin have […]
Posted inEnvironment, Growth, News, Outdoors, Water
Ouray’s iconic ice park has a plan for its future that could be a blueprint for other troubled Western wonders
OURAY — The glassy tentacles of blue ice are ready. The cantilevered finish line — with some American Ninja-type obstacles to challenge the world’s top ice climbers — teeters over the edge of the frigid Uncompahgre Gorge. Not only is Ouray and its ice park ready for this weekend’s 24th running of its celebrated ice […]