By — William Brangham William Brangham By — Solveig Rennan Solveig Rennan By — Madison Staten Madison Staten By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara By — Juliet Fuisz Juliet Fuisz By — Alexa Gold Alexa Gold By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/horizons/2026/05/as-the-colorado-river-dries-up-how-western-states-are-confronting-the-water-crisis Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Story Roughly one in ten Americans gets their water from the Colorado River. But a worsening drought, driven in part by climate change, is drying up the river, and states are fighting over water rights. Horizons moderator William Brangham explores what that means for communities and industries that depend on that water with Luke Runyon, Wade Crowfoot and Joel Ferry. By — William Brangham William Brangham William Brangham is an award-winning correspondent, producer, and substitute anchor for the PBS News Hour. He also serves as the host of Horizons from PBS News. @WmBrangham By — Solveig Rennan Solveig Rennan Solveig Rennan is a producer of national affairs for PBS News Hour and Horizons. By — Madison Staten Madison Staten By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara is a producer for PBS News. By — Juliet Fuisz Juliet Fuisz By — Alexa Gold Alexa Gold Alexa Gold is an associate producer for PBS News. By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert is an associate producer for PBS News.