Is climate change enough justification to stop the expansion of a reservoir that will take more water from the dwindling Colorado River? That’s the central question in a lawsuit pitting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Colorado’s largest water utility against a consortium of environmental nonprofits. The environmentalists say the Colorado River has no more water to give, while Denver Water, the utility whose Gross Reservoir would nearly triple in capacity, argues it is ensuring its customers can withstand droughts. The Corps contends it is not required to consider climate change or the downstream effects of its expansion of a dam to grow the reservoir. The case in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has the potential to ripple through Western water management as states, tribes, cities and the federal government struggle to find a compromise on how to steeply cut water use.

Other Colorado River management news:

• The Arizona Republic (Phoenix): Tribal officials ask feds to delay Colorado River decision
• KJZZ (Phoenix): Arizona pushes back on a new Colorado River plan that could bring ‘catastrophic harm’
• FOX13 (Salt Lake City): ‘We’re still 70% full;’ Flaming Gorge deals with Colorado River releases
• The Colorado Sun (Denver): Ruins of lost towns are reemerging as Colorado’s reservoirs shrink
• Aspen Journalism (Colo.): How low can the Colorado River go? A slow float on the 15-mile reach
• Las Vegas Review-Journal: It ‘broke my heart’: Runner says conditions along Colorado River worse than thought
• The Wall Street Journal: The Colorado River is shrinking. See how authorities are trying to save it.
• The Washington Post: Opinion: Subtraction isn’t the way out of the Colorado River crisis
• The Raincross Gazette (Riverside, Calif.): Opinion: Colorado River parties fail to reach agreement, federal government steps in
• The Land Desk: Blog: Glen Canyon Dam hydropower: What’s it good for?
• University of Colorado Boulder: Blog: Key takeaways from the 2026 Colorado River Conference