Episode 1: Liquid Gold

A 40-year-old calculation on the back of an envelope fuels something of a gold rush in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. But instead of gold, the attraction is water. And the plan is to move it and sell it to Colorado’s growing – and thirsty – metro areas on the Front Range.

But how much water is there really? And how do we decide who gets it and who doesn't? 

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Episode 3: Finding Balance

When people learn that 91% of Colorado’s water is used for agricultural purposes, farmers are the first to blame for its overuse. But there’s a lot more baked into this figure than many realize. There are compromises that farmers are making, trying to ensure they are in the black financially while adapting to drought and a changing climate, in order to ensure we all eat.

So as Colorado approaches 6 million people, with most of us living in the Front Range, are people aware of the sacrifices needed to keep up with the growing demand for water?

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Episode 5: Searching For Solutions

In this series, we’ve investigated the pressures around water in Colorado – from climate change to population growth to different values – and how they shape the management of this vital resource. But where do we go from here? And how do we change the relationship we’ve had with water historically, to better reflect the realities of our future? Because we should all care about where our water comes from, where it goes, what it’s used for, and the true cost to use it.

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Bonus Episode: Power and Speculation

Control of water. Who has it, who doesn’t? How was water historically used? What is it being used for today? And what about future uses? In this first bonus episode, we are talking about power and decision-making, including the controversial topic of water speculation, with James Eklund, a prominent Colorado water lawyer. The conflict over water speculation goes deeper than just dollars. It’s sometimes about values.

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Bonus Episode: The Future of Agriculture

When 91% of water in Colorado is tied to agriculture, what happens on the farm matters. Rethinking water means rethinking agriculture. So we’re spending time in this bonus episode talking about dirt. We sat down with Gene Kelley, a professor of Pedology and the Deputy Director of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station at Colorado State University. In our wide-ranging conversation we discuss the innovation happening in agriculture, soil health and the impacts on water, and even the difficulties of behavior change.

Available now
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