Even after a wet winter, the runoff that’s forecast to flow downstream in Utah’s Colorado River Basin looks underwhelming compared to snowpack levels.

A company spun out of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory began survey flights over the Uinta Mountains this year. Water managers are already using the data to manage Colorado River water wisely.

Drought, growth and overuse across the West have strained the Colorado River. That’s why KUER has joined a new journalism collaboration focused on exploring the river’s challenges and solutions.