Water levels in Lake Mead, the Colorado River reservoir, fell sharply again this summer and are nearing an elevation that would set off the first-ever official water shortage on the river. The reservoir, which supplies roughly 30 million users in the West, dropped to 1,087 feet above sea level, or about 40 percent of capacity.

Colorado may have 900,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water left to develop. Or it may have nothing. While some general trends are apparent, a new study can't pin down the exact conditions 30 or 60 years from now, but it gives planners better tools.

Colorado water officials are optimistic that a California court ruling invalidating a conservation plan won't derail agreements affecting seven Western states. Dick Wolfe, director of the Colorado Division of Water Resources, said Tuesday that water officials have shown a "collective will" to overcome obstacles.

It's become increasingly clear that the demands put on the Colorado River by the seven thirsty states in its basin are not sustainable. A complex web of treaties, compacts, laws and court decisions govern who can use the once-mighty river's water and when.

A judge invalidated a landmark pact Thursday intended to curtail Southern California's overuse of water from the Colorado River but left the deal in place during an appeals period.

Across the United States, water managers are beginning to grapple with climate change. And it's changing the way they think about almost everything.

The Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a $1 million grant to the seven Colorado River Basin states for a first-ever comprehensive evaluation of water demands on the 1,450 mile river. The award to The Colorado River Basin Water Supply and demand study was one of three Basin Study Program grants announced by Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael L. Connor recently.

Sponsored by the Colorado River Water Users Association. For more information and/or to register visit their website.