Colorado River Portal Offers Data Tool for Environmental Journalists

Water may be for fighting over, but water data is worth cheering about. A new Interior Department data portal may help journalists cover the ever-critical issue of water shortage and surplus in the Colorado River basin and nationwide.

The portal, titled "Drought in the Colorado River Basin," presents a complex picture of flow in the geographically complex Colorado River system. Right now there is hardly enough water in the Colorado to meet everyone's needs and wants — a situation which produces news.

The main web page for the portal is here. It is part of a broader interagency initiative called the Open Water Data Initiative.

At the foundation of federal water data structures is the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Information System. Also essential is the U.S. Drought Monitor.