The
Hardest-Working River in the American West
One River. Two Countries. Seven States. 30 Tribes. 40 Million Lives.
The mighty Colorado River starts as a trickle of snowmelt in Rocky Mountain National Park. As the river carves canyons and builds cities on its journey, this water brings life to the American West.
Anatomy of the River
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The Colorado River Basin occupies an area of approximately 260,000 square miles in the American west, originating in Rocky Mountain National Park and ending in the Gulf of California. The Colorado River is a critical resource in the West: seven basin states depend on it for water supply, hydropower production, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, agricultural uses depend on 70% of Colorado River water, and between 35 and 40 million people rely on this water for their municipal needs.
Post-2026
Negotiations
Negotiations are underway to establish new operating guidelines for the Colorado River. The current operating guidelines, called the ‘07 Operating Guidelines, expire in 2026. These negotiations will determine how much water leaves Lake Powell and Lake Mead – the country’s two largest reservoirs – and will determine ways to address the imbalance between supply and demand.
A
Sustainable
River
“For decades, management of the Colorado River has largely operated on a demand-based system. In other words, the system has been managed to maximize water uses. While seemingly intuitive, this demand-driven model faces critical limitations in the face of a changing climate: we cannot use more water than the Colorado River provides.
What is
Snowpack
& Why is it Important?
80% of the water that flows through the Colorado River comes from snow that falls and melts in the Rocky Mountains. Check up on the snowpack and the projections of how much water that might mean for our reservoirs.
