As Colorado River Nears Collapse, It Faces Leadership, Transparency ‘Crisis,’ Environmentalists Warn

There is no more water available.

That’s the assessment of a new report published Wednesday about the Colorado River by a coalition of environmental groups urging the states that rely on the river and the federal government to take immediate action to cut back use. The river, they argue, is threatened by crises in both its hydrology and in the transparency of the groups negotiating its future.

The report comes as the Colorado River verges on collapse. A recent study from leading experts found that by 2027, water levels will be so low in the system’s major reservoirs that their dams would become inoperable and nearly all storage would be lost, with water struggling to reach California, Arizona and Nevada. • ICN Weekly Saturdays Our #1 newsletter delivers the week’s climate and energy ne