PBS News Presents "Tipping Point: A River Reimagined"

Arlington, VA (August 19, 2026)— With the Colorado River continually experiencing record low levels, PBS News presents a virtual town hall, "Tipping Point: A River Reimagined," streaming live on Wednesday, August 19 at 7:00 pm ET. PBS News Hour science correspondent Miles O'Brien moderates a discussion with the water officials, scientists, tribal representatives, farmers and planners who are building what comes next for the Colorado River Basin.

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 succeed the expiring regulatory framework that has governed the river for the last two decades. Because of this, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation stepped in to provide a federal framework that includes mandatory cuts to Arizona, California and Nevada and voluntary targets for Colorado and the other upper-basin states.

Hosted at Camp Eddy in Grand Junction, Colorado, the 90-minute event gives water negotiators from California, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona an opportunity to discuss the path forward.

This is the third installment in PBS News' Colorado River Basin town hall series. Where earlier installments examined the scale of the crisis, this one turns toward what's being built in response and the agreements, partnerships and innovations that could define the river's next chapter.

Confirmed participants include:

• JB Hamby, California's Colorado River Commissioner and Chair, Colorado River Board of California.
• Becky Mitchell, Colorado's Commissioner, Upper Colorado River Commission
• Tom Buschatzke, director, Arizona Department of Water Resources and Arizona's principal negotiator on the Colorado River.
• Tonya Trujillo, New Mexico's top negotiator on the Colorado River, former deputy state engineer and senior water policy advisor to New Mexico Governor Michelle Grisham, and former Interior Department's Assistant Secretary for Water and Science in the Biden Administration.
• Andrea Travnicek, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior.
• Brad Udall, senior water and climate research scientist, Colorado State University.
• Jason Hauter, senior counsel, Akin Law Firm and counsel, the Gila River Indian Community.
• Emily Fairfax, ecohydrologist and associate professor, University of Minnesota.
• Shannon Mullane, water reporter, The Colorado Sun
• Kathryn Sorensen, director of research, the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University.

"Tipping Point: A River Reimagined" is a Mobias Media production for NewsHour Productions. It is made possible by the generous support of the Walton Family Foundation, with additional support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Park Foundation, the CO2 Foundation, and the Zegar Family Foundation.

Media contact: Ella Richardson, ERichardson (at) newshour (dot) org