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A proposed pipeline project in southern Utah would transport water from Lake Powell to fast-growing communities in the state's southwest corner. The proposal hit political headwinds this year, as other Colorado River users objected to it.

2020 delivers setbacks for some long-planned Western water projects

Long-planned projects have run into roadblocks.
The Santa Cruz River flows downstream of the outflow from the Agua Dulce wastewater treatment plant.

State shares framework for new surface water quality protections

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is working on regulations to fill the gap left by changes to the Clean Water Act.
Construction nears the end on the wall section across the San Pedro River in October 2020.

DHS marks milestone as wall construction severs wildlife corridors

New border wall construction is nearly done in some of the most environmentally sensitive areas in Arizona.
Between the High Park and Cameron Peak Fires, a broad reach of the Poudre River’s watershed has burned within the last decade.

For the West’s drinking water, wildfire concerns linger long after smoke clears

For municipal drinking water systems, fires are felt for years after they’re snuffed out.
The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Cochise County, Arizona.

Latest lawsuit against Fort Huachuca over San Pedro water use seeks documents

A conservation group has again sued over what it says is a failure to protect the river and its dependent species.
Water in the Rillito River following a monsoon storm. July 23, 2020

After Clean Water Act change, uncertainty reigns over water protections

The Trump administration's revision of which waterways are protected creates regulatory uncertainty, especially in arid places.
The Colorado River near Kremmling, Colorado, on Sept. 15, 2018.

Climate change likely to keep hammering Colorado River's biggest reservoirs, model shows

Projections show an increasing likelihood of official shortage declaration before 2026.
A Hia-Ced O'odham protester sits inside a vehicle to block construction on a stretch of border wall going up in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on Sept. 9, 2020.

Indigenous activists arrested in demonstration against border wall construction near Quitobaquito Springs

Two O'odham protesters were arrested for impeding construction in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
One of the spring-fed ponds at the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge in October 2019, which sits up against the U.S.-Mexico border.

Border wall groundwater pumping threatens to push endangered species to 'brink of extinction'

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials worry water pumping will deplete the San Bernardino Valley springs and aquifer.
Construction of 30-foot high steel bollard wall on or near the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge near Arivaca in July 2020.

Border wall construction heightens environmental concerns in sensitive habitats

Local residents, a sheriff and a wildlife expert weigh in on the impacts of physical barriers at the southern border.
Cracked mud flats appear on the surface of Quitobaquito pond on July 18, 2020.

Scientists: Border wall construction wreaking havoc at Quitobaquito Springs

More than two dozen ecologists, biologists and hydrologists say the desert oasis is in worse shape than ever.
Quitobaquito pond, July 18, 2020.

'A worst-case scenario': Leaks, dust, water pumping and drought plague Quitobaquito

Border-hugging spring and its pond are sacred to Hia C-ed O'odham and the Tohono O'odham communities
Scientists have been studying the Colorado River, shown here from above Deer Creek Falls, for nearly four decades to understand the environmental impacts of the Glen Canyon Dam on a water source used by around 40 million people in seven states. The environment, climate change, tribal rights and those water users will all be considered in river-management talks expected to begin later this year.

Humpback chub 'alien abductions' help frame the future of the Colorado River

While not considered very "charismatic," this keystone fish plays an important role in water policy.
A drone photo shows construction work beginning in the San Pedro riverbed on June 30, 2020.

Border wall construction begins across San Pedro River

The controversial project across Arizona's last free-flowing river is underway.
The Colorado River flows beneath Cibola Valley's Farmers' Bridge.

Arizona housing growth tees up opportunity for water investors

As Central Arizona booms, Phoenix exurbs are looking to rural areas for more water.
Drone camera image of border wall construction along the San Pedro River in early June, 2020.

CBP reveals a few more details about San Pedro River border barrier

The agency held an invitation-only meeting Friday to provide an update on the project.

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