By — Miles O'Brien Miles O'Brien By — Kate Tobin Kate Tobin Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-live-tipping-point-the-colorado-river-reimagined-a-pbs-news-special Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH LIVE: Tipping Point — The Colorado River Reimagined | A PBS News Special Nation Aug 19, 2026 12:07 PM EDT The Colorado River is at a crossroads. About 40 million people depend on the Colorado River for drinking water, and it irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland. But a decadeslong drought along the river has depleted water levels in reservoirs Lake Mead and Lake Powell to record lows. Dwindling snowpack in the headwaters and ever-increasing demand from agriculture and municipalities have overtaxed it to a near breaking point. "Tipping Point: A River Reimagined" begins at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, Aug. 19. Watch live in the video player above. After years of negotiations, the seven basin states — Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California — could not reach consensus this summer on a long-term management plan to replace the expiring regulatory framework that has governed the river for the last two decades. What happens now? Join PBS News science correspondent Miles O'Brien as he talks about the future of this critical waterway with scientists, policymakers and other stakeholders in a live event, "Tipping Point: A River Reimagined." The U.S. Bureau for Reclamation, which manages the federal infrastructure on the river, has stepped in with a new proposal. Under the plan, Arizona, California and Nevada face mandatory water cuts in 2027 and 2028, with Arizona taking the biggest hit. Colorado and the other upper-basin states would face only voluntary targets, but are also reeling from record low river levels. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. Guests for the livestreamed discussion about challenges facing the Colorado River and its future include: JB Hamby, California's Colorado River commissioner Becky Mitchell, Colorado's commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources Tonya Trujillo, New Mexico's top negotiator on the Colorado River Andrea Travnicek, assistant secretary for water and science at the U.S. Department of the Interior Brad Udall, senior water and climate research scientist at Colorado State University Jason Hauter, longtime counsel to the Gila River Indian Community Emily Fairfax, ecohydrologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota Shannon Mullane, water reporter at The Colorado Sun Kathryn Sorensen, director of research at the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University Have a question? Submit it here; we'll answer some of your questions as part of this conversation. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now By — Miles O'Brien Miles O'Brien Miles O'Brien is an Emmy, Peabody, and duPont Award-winning broadcast journalist, documentary filmmaker, and one of America's leading science correspondents. For more than four decades, he has reported from every corner of the globe covering science, technology, aerospace, climate, medicine, and the environment. @milesobrien By — Kate Tobin Kate Tobin
The Colorado River is at a crossroads. About 40 million people depend on the Colorado River for drinking water, and it irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland. But a decadeslong drought along the river has depleted water levels in reservoirs Lake Mead and Lake Powell to record lows. Dwindling snowpack in the headwaters and ever-increasing demand from agriculture and municipalities have overtaxed it to a near breaking point. "Tipping Point: A River Reimagined" begins at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, Aug. 19. Watch live in the video player above. After years of negotiations, the seven basin states — Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California — could not reach consensus this summer on a long-term management plan to replace the expiring regulatory framework that has governed the river for the last two decades. What happens now? Join PBS News science correspondent Miles O'Brien as he talks about the future of this critical waterway with scientists, policymakers and other stakeholders in a live event, "Tipping Point: A River Reimagined." The U.S. Bureau for Reclamation, which manages the federal infrastructure on the river, has stepped in with a new proposal. Under the plan, Arizona, California and Nevada face mandatory water cuts in 2027 and 2028, with Arizona taking the biggest hit. Colorado and the other upper-basin states would face only voluntary targets, but are also reeling from record low river levels. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. Guests for the livestreamed discussion about challenges facing the Colorado River and its future include: JB Hamby, California's Colorado River commissioner Becky Mitchell, Colorado's commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources Tonya Trujillo, New Mexico's top negotiator on the Colorado River Andrea Travnicek, assistant secretary for water and science at the U.S. Department of the Interior Brad Udall, senior water and climate research scientist at Colorado State University Jason Hauter, longtime counsel to the Gila River Indian Community Emily Fairfax, ecohydrologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota Shannon Mullane, water reporter at The Colorado Sun Kathryn Sorensen, director of research at the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University Have a question? Submit it here; we'll answer some of your questions as part of this conversation. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now