"In 2000, a transformative climate-driven "megadrought" swept over the Colorado River watershed. By the early 2020s, levels on the river's two largest reservoirs were hitting record lows and threatening the water supply for forty million people. Outside the West, water stocks are stressed even in states with bountiful rainfall such as Florida. From coast to coast, conventional measures to sustain the most fundamental natural resource on earth--drinking...

In 2012, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) awarded a grant to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to identify potential projects and methods that could be used to meet both nonconsumptive and consumptive needs in the Yampa River Basin. This effort leveraged existing studies funded by CWCB (e.g., the Yampa-White Basin needs assessments) to identify the most favorable candidate locations for implementing alternative agricultural water transfer methods...

Concentrating solar power (CSP) systems utilize the sun's energy to create heat that is used to generate electrical power. CSP systems in the United States are installed primarily in the Southwest, with 92% of plants that are operational, under construction, or under development located in three western states--Arizona, California, and Nevada. This report provides an overview of CSP development in these states, or the 'Southwest' for the purposes...

The Yampa River Water Resources Planning Model Yampa Model was developed jointly by the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Division of Water Resources as part of the Colorado River Decision Support System (CRDSS). The objective was to develop a monthly water allocation and accounting model which includes 100 percent of the basins consumptive use and would be capable of making comparative analyses for the assessment of historical and future...