The Colorado River
A River Running Dry
For the 40 million people across seven states and two countries who depend on the Colorado River, 2026 is a turning point.
Glen Canyon Dam, completed in 1963, was not designed to be operated at the extremely low water levels that Lake Powell is now approaching. As of late April 2026, Lake Powell was just 25 percent full and projected to drop to a record low in the next 12 months. The river’s two great reservoirs — Lake Powell and Lake Mead — remain perilously depleted after two decades of drought driven by a warming climate.
In April 2026, the Bureau of Reclamation took unprecedented actions to store more water in Lake Powell in order to preserve hydropower generation and protect water-delivery infrastructure at Glen Canyon Dam. Those emergency moves set in motion events that could result in first-ever lawsuits from Arizona, California, or Nevada against their upstream neighbors over water supply from the shrinking river.
At the same time, the political crisis is deepening. The seven states that share the basin have been unable to agree on cuts that would reduce their reliance on the shrinking river, and reservoir operating rules expire at the end of 2026. If no agreement is reached, the federal government could step in — or the states could take their chances in court.
New solutions are emerging, but none are simple. The Bureau of Reclamation signed a memorandum of understanding with six water agencies in Arizona, California, and Nevada to explore interstate water swaps involving desalinated or recycled water — a sign of how creatively basin managers must now think about a river that can no longer meet all the demands placed on it.
Circle of Blue has covered the Colorado River for more than two decades. Our reporters are on the ground in the basin — tracking reservoir levels, negotiating rooms, courthouses, and canyon walls — to document the most consequential water story in North America. Explore our full Colorado River coverage below. To see our Colorado River coverage mapped out, click here.
The Reporter’s View: Brett Walton
The Colorado River is struggling mightily. Record-smashing heat this year and a lack of snow have exposed longstanding vulnerabilities in how the river is managed. The entire system is under severe stress right now. There simply is not enough water to satisfy all of the river’s many uses – from farm irrigation and municipal drinking water to endangered species, tribes, rafting companies, high-tech industries, and hydropower. The big question, still unanswered, is how to match supply and demand as the basin grows even hotter and drier in the coming years.
Our Latest Story
Hoover Dam Approaches a Hydropower Cliff
Some day in the next 12 months – maybe in late-August, maybe not until next spring – Lake Mead will drop below the critical threshold of 1,035 feet above sea level. That is the water-level elevation at which hydropower generating capacity at Hoover Dam, the largest in the Colorado River basin, will be cut by…
As a Colorado Aquifer Runs Low, Dangerous Heavy Metals Threaten Rural Communities’ Drinking Water
Glen Canyon Dam Faces Its Existential Moment
U.S. Government Orders Emergency Actions to Protect Glen Canyon Dam
As the West’s Scant Snowpack Melts, Coloradans Brace for a Lean Water Year
In Search of ‘Earned Hope’ on the Colorado River: A Conversation with Photographer Pete McBride
Big Decisions Loom for a Rapidly Shrinking Lake Powell
Western U.S. Cities Open Wallets in Quest for Water
Massive Energy Storage Project Eyed for Four Corners Region
Two-Decade Hydropower Plunge at Big Colorado River Dams
Solar Growth Cushions Colorado River Hydropower Declines
The Season of Our Growing Discontent
