Water master Robert Rios walks down to irrigation gates near the border wall in El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 in July 2023. The "ditch riders" frequently find dead migrants trapped ...

Water canals worldwide are causing widespread wildlife drownings, with significant losses recorded in Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Portugal and the U.S., particularly impacting threatened species.

RENO — Water conflicts are nothing new to the arid West, where myriad users long have vied for their share of the precious resource from California's Central Valley to the Colorado and Missouri rivers ...

CODY, Wyo. – Fish die in fields, and the irrigation canals that funnel them to farmlands can also become a deathtrap in the fall when water is shut off. In Wyoming’s Wapiti Valley, not far from the ...

Editor’s note: This story contains reporting that some readers may find disturbing. Robert Rios knows the Rio Grande as few do: its vagary and speed, its awesome power to give life and take it away.

This story was republished on Jan. 5, 2024, to make it free for all readers. Editor’s note: This story contains reporting that some readers may find disturbing. Robert Rios knows the Rio Grande as few ...