… to anyone who lives in the Southwest! Michel Elizabeth (and her team) put together a incredibly well researched, well delivered, and highly informative series; I didn’t want it to end! If you don’t feel compelled to research this challenge further, or take action, then you didn’t listen closely. The beautiful and frightening story that Michel paints in the context of this crisis is outstanding, I will now listen to her other work as a result. Thank you CPR for funding this great work. I live in Tempe, AZ and while we have an alternate watershed from the Rim, controlled by the Salt River Project, water is always top of mind. The most critical thing I learned from this series is that Ag takes the bulk of Colorado River Water and thus we need to focus on helping that industry FIRST!

You are thirsty for this podcast, trust me. It covers a number of aspects of the issues of water, particularly focused on the Colorado River system. The next civil war in America will be fought over water rights if we don’t pay attention.

Living in Arizona, I am continually horrified by the general lack of concern for our water future. This series provided me with a lot of information. I now have some hope along with my despair. Thanks for educating me on initiatives in process as well as a complete rendition of remaining roadblocks to insuring that our present life can continue into the future.

Great podcast series, well-written, well-sourced, love the personal stories from locals

Great podcast - loved hearing from so many thoughtful people who are grappling with what climate change means for water in the West. I would love a bonus episode or season 2 that touches more on mitigation. Today’s global emissions will determine exactly what world we’re trying to adapt to - and even whether it’s possible to adapt to it. I’m all for being hopeful - but not by ignoring the biggest thing we can do to protect the river, which is to dramatically cut emissions this decade.

Wishing Phoenix would follow suit with the actions of Tucson and Las Vegas

Michael is an exceptional climate reporter!

I wish Dora the explorer didn’t host this.

Future-oriented in a truly Fantastic way. A unique Characterization of the Climate Crisis and Some Solutions to Solve it. Truly Riveting and well-Researched portrait of the River.

I love to be informed about issues of climate change, but do worry about leaving a podcast feeling hopeless and depressed. Michael does a great job of informing you, while also presenting hopeful solutions.

I stumbled upon this series after spending a week at the Arizona/Utah border. Michael does a wonderful job of introducing many perspectives on the water crisis and what the next steps should be.

A must if you love water for the benefit of all

A must if you love the west

Michael and the team do a fantastic job of probing the details behind the water issues in the west- and you’ll learn a lot of cool facts too. Highly recommended.

I am loving this podcast and am glad someone is shining a light on the southwest water crisis in such an intersectional way.

Ignore water and the loss of potable water at your risk. At the risk of the humans in the south west corner of America. Without taking care of this resource. All done.

Whether you live in the west or not, this tracing of water history, policy and how future decisions will shape a large portion of our country is a fascinating piece of storytelling. Highly produced and researched, prepare to be educated and entertained.

The podcast does a great job of bringing many significant problems to light for the uninformed listener. It was, however, a bit discouraging when it was largely portrayed as not a problem when Bellagio was drawing their water from an aquifer, and no discussion of the depletion of aquifers across the west was had. That they weren’t drawing from the river is good, that they are wasting a resource that takes significant time to replenish is frivolous and terrible, at worst. This is also ignoring the interplay between rivers and aquifers, and while I realize you need to make a reasonable length program that is entertaining, it seems a bit questionable to completely skip a discussion of the impact of well usage in an arid area.

Thanks for this great intro to Colorado River water!

I’ve lived in Las Vegas and now living in Denver. I’m concerned, naturally, with what I’ve heard and witnessed first hand on the water crisis. I’ve really enjoyed hearing more stories and learning more facts on this reality.

I’ve been wanting to learn more about the water crisis in Colorado and the southwest. This podcast makes the information easy to digest and brings important voices into the conversation. Looking forward to hearing about solutions to this important issue!

The episodes contain several provocative, but well-presented, dilemmas and solutions. Nicely edited.

Everyone needs to listen to this podcast! It’s a must. Thank you for creating this.

Interesting story and a critical problem facing us all. I just could not get past the typical “Native American on a pedestal” slant, and listening to a bubbly Gen Z preach to the rest of us got old quick. I’ll read the book(s).

Excellent podcast. Informational and creative context-rich storytelling followed by clear headed investigation of possible solutions to one of the western US’s most urgent and compelling issues - water. As a third generation Colorado native, I learned a lot (some appalling, some encouraging) about the history of the river I was lucky enough to grow up hiking along and fishing in. Highly recommend.

… but this is fascinating!

All of us, especially those of us who live in the west, need to understand where we get our water and how much we use. There are many things we can do to change our water use and we all need to do it if we want to keep living here. It’s going to take everyone. No one gets off the hook with this one.

Wonderful storytelling and sound design. I love the various perspectives being pulled in to give a more honest image of this complex issue. Great work!!

Wanted to learn more about how we got where we are regarding our water crisis. This podcast is very helpful in educating me.

Even though the topic is frightening to consider, the hopeful tone and entertaining approach make me feel that all is not lost. I look forward to future episodes.

This is a very informative presentation of an important issue to this part of the country. I’m looking forward to more episodes.

Finally, some is explaining this whole Colorado River mess and helping normies like me understand what might actually work to fix this water mess. Ep. 1 was great and previewed a lot of really interesting topics. I’ve been a long time listener of CPR but just recently discovered their podcasts. Amazing they’re covering such big issues across the region and not just CO!

Love hearing from folks at ground zero. Exploring this crisis with simple language & interviews seems like it will teach me a lot about perhaps the most pressing issue for my kids’ future in Central Colorado.