Aerial photo of lake with declining water level

Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

May 18, 2023

More than 50 percent of the largest lakes in the world are losing water, according to a groundbreaking new assessment published today in Science. The article was coauthored by Professor Balaji Rajagopalan and Associate Professor Ben Livneh, both from CU Boulder's Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. Fangfang Yao, a CIRES visiting scholar, was the lead author.

Ben Livneh joins CASE Fellows program

Dec. 15, 2022

Ben Livneh , associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, has joined the Colorado Art Science Environment (CASE) Fellows program. The program is the latest incarnation of the Office for Outreach and Engagement's work to connect the arts, sciences and community for shared action on Colorado’s interrelated social and...

Ben Livneh

Ben Livneh Receives AGU Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award

Sept. 8, 2022

CIRES Fellow and WWA Director Ben Livneh was announced as American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) 2022 Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award recipient. Being selected as a Section Honoree is bestowed upon individuals for meritorious work or service toward the advancement and promotion of discovery and solution science. AGU, a nonprofit organization...

Ben Livneh

Livneh interviewed by 9News on flash flooding in areas hit by wildfires

July 19, 2022

Ben Livneh was interviewed by Denver 9News for a piece focusing flash flooding over the Cameron Peak Fire burn scar. The floods caused serious damage in the Glen Haven, Crystal Mountain and Buckhorn areas of Larimer County. Livneh is an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural...

Burn scorched trees in the mountains

After a Wildfire, What Happens to Water?

July 11, 2022

When Western wildfires break out, water may first come to mind as a critical resource for helping extinguish it. But what about after the flames finish? A 2022 CU study on the growing impact of wildfire on the Western U.S. water supply found that large forest fires can significantly increase...

Ben Livneh

9News features Livneh in Climate Change Town Hall

Nov. 15, 2021

9NEWS explored climate change solutions with Colorado experts at a town hall on Wednesday. The town hall included topics like weather, water, wildfires and what we can do to protect our planet. The panelists were: Becky Bolinger, assistant state climatologist for the Colorado Climate Center , Ben Livneh, director of...

Ben Livneh

Livneh featured in PBS NewsHour Documentary on the Colorado River

Nov. 11, 2021

The Colorado River runs nearly fifteen hundred miles, winding through seven states and Mexico. It supplies drinking water to nearly 40 million people, irrigates nearly 4 million acres of farmland and attracts millions of nature lovers to scenic Grand Canyon vistas. And it is on the brink. A 20 year...

Ben Livneh

Livneh quoted in Kaiser Health News wildfire story

Sept. 28, 2021

The ‘Burn Scars’ of Wildfires Threaten the West’s Drinking Water Colorado saw its worst fire season last year, with the three largest fires in state history and more than 600,000 acres burned. But some of the effects didn’t appear until this July, when heavy rain pushed sediment from damaged forests...

The aftermath of July 2021 floods in Poudre Canyon, west of Fort Collins.

How fire today will impact water tomorrow

July 29, 2021

In 2020, Colorado battled the four largest wildfires in its history, leaving residents anxious for another intense wildfire season this year. But last week, fires weren’t the issue—it was their aftermath. When heavy rains fell over the burn scar from the 2020 Cameron Peak fire, they triggered flash flooding and...

Farm pivot irrigation

Research on soil moisture aims to improve irrigation models

March 17, 2021

Irrigated agriculture is the planet's largest consumer of freshwater and ultimately produces more than 40% of food worldwide. Yet the exact amounts of water actually being used in irrigation remains largely unknown. Answering that question would provide insight into the global water balance – the flow of water in and...

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