Colorado River

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.

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.

Invasive species are on the march in the Colorado River, threatening everything from endangered native fish in Arizona to Colorado's juicy Palisade peaches.

Cody Moser with the federal Colorado Basin River Forecast Center said in a monthly briefing Tuesday that just 1.4 million acre feet of Colorado River water is expected to reach Lake Powell through July. That's less than a quarter of what's considered normal.

Leaders of environmental groups are issuing fresh warnings this week about the impacts the ongoing gridlock could have in the river basin.

Record low snowpack in the Upper Colorado River Basin is raising serious concern for downstream users – like New Mexico.

Ted Cooke had been tapped to run the Bureau of Reclamation, but withdrew as some Upper Basin states worried about potential bias.

The move, by the Colorado River Indian Tribes in Arizona and California would give rights of nature to the water, marking a historic first.

Amid a prolonged megadrought, the Bureau of Reclamation is predicting that Lake Powell may drop close to a “dead pool." But, water managers won’t let that happen. They’ll first tap into reservoirs further upstream – including in New Mexico.

Drought conditions in the Rocky Mountains could further lower water levels at Lake Powell.