Welcome back to The Runoff, Aspen Journalism’s Water Desk newsletter providing insider news and water-related updates you won’t read anywhere else. We are covering stories related to one of the hottest, driest years on record and how it’s impacting local communities and how water managers are scrambling to adapt. Find updates under The Briefing and catch up on the most […]
Author Archives: Heather Sackett
Heather Sackett is the managing editor at Aspen Journalism and the editor and reporter on the Water Desk. She has also reported for The Denver Post and the Telluride Daily Planet. Heather has a master’s degree from CU’s Center for Environmental Journalism and her reporting has been recognized by the Colorado Press Association.
Posted inWater
Aspen enacts Stage 3 water shortage
The move also comes with a water rate increase for those who use the most water: Customers in Tier III will see a 50% rate increase and Tier IV will see their rates increase 125%.
Posted inWater
Flexible pool of water could be key to protect Lake Powell
There isn’t a way to physically move water upstream, but according to WRA, water could be transferred between reservoirs through adjustments to dam releases and careful accounting.
Posted inWater
Fish out of water
As flows plummet, fish could become stranded in pools that are disconnected from the rest of the river, and program managers say they will try to prevent fish from using that stretch of river during times when flows are predicted to be at their lowest.
Posted inWater
River District proposes actions to address drought
They are also asking the board to sign off on a system of prioritizing water use sectors: municipal and domestic needs over agriculture.
Posted inWater
March heat wave fueled worst end-of-winter snowpack on record
Light said she has been hearing from water users about how early they have had to turn their ditches on to irrigate their fields – some the weekend of March 21 – due to the meager snowpack and record-high temperatures.
Posted inThe Runoff
The Runoff | Two of the biggest stories in Colorado River news
A historically bad snowpack and record high temps, and the post-2026 management of the river – and how they are intersecting.
Posted inWater
Denver Water, Xcel enact plan to ease shortages
As part of the agreement, Denver Water will make available to entities on the Western Slope 10% of the water it is able to divert as a result of the call reduction.
Posted inWater
Upper Basin states test methods to fill Powell pool
Colorado still does not seem to have the policies in place to implement a large-scale, traditional conservation program in the near future.
Posted inWater
Aspen activist wants ‘rights of nature’ for the Roaring Fork River
A handful of Colorado communities have passed resolutions that give rights to local waterways: Grand Lake to its namesake body of water, Ridgway to the Uncompahgre River and most recently, Durango to the Animas River.