In a new study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), every single fish tested from 291 freshwater streams across the United States was found to be contaminated with mercury. "This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in our air, watersheds and many of our fish in freshwater streams," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Lawyers for senior water-rights owners sued the state government Monday in La Plata County and five towns, saying the state engineer is failing to protect water-rights owners from gas and oil companies. Gas and oil companies remove water from the ground after they drill wells.

Twenty-nine families afflicted by the salmonella outbreak in Alamosa's water supply sued their city government Monday. An investigation by the state Department of Public and Health and Environment concluded that salmonella bacteria from animal feces probably got into the drinking-water supply early in March 2008 and infected the entire water system for the nex

Animal manure, a byproduct as old as agriculture, has become an unlikely modern pollution problem, scientists and environmentalists say.

Thousands of the nation’s largest water polluters are outside the Clean Water Act’s reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected by that law, according to interviews with regulators.

Ordinarily, it's a no-brainer for the Legislature to approve an annual bill that accepts hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government for water projects. But not Friday in the House. The federal government puts up the money in low-interest loans as long as the state pays for a fifth of the costs and the state Legislature OKs the projects on the list.

It wasn’t officially “Water Day” at the state capitol Wednesday, but it certainly had the feel of it. The day included discussions of several reports on water issues, a debate in the Senate over funding for the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and a well-attended legislative luncheon hosted by the Colorado Foundation for Water Education.

So how much snow are we going to get? The seemingly endless parade of wild winter storms has Americans wondering how much snow the next storm will bring, and they expect their local meteorologists to have all the answers. A new forecasting method may soon be available to help.

Shell Oil Co. said Tuesday it is abandoning its quest for water rights from the Yampa River in northwest Colorado to develop oil shale production, citing delays in the project due to the global economic downturn. The Yampa is the last free-flowing river in Colorado, uninterrupted by dams or other diversions.

The Senate on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to almost $500 million in budget cuts that would balance the state's budget.