• Today: Dead pool status is just as serious as it sounds. Without change, both Glen Canyon and Hoover dams could lose their ability to generate electricity.

• Next week: Native American tribes in the Southwest hold substantial water rights to the Colorado River. Many of those rights have never been realized, and the 22-year drought has brought new complications.

• The seven states of the Colorado Basin have been called on to unite on a plan to conserve 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of water next year. In a region where the old saying is, “Whisky’s for drinking, water’s for fighting,” that no doubt will be a contentious endeavor.

• July 17: A new era of megafires is posing complex dangers to the drought-stricken riverscape.

• July 24: Recreation on the Colorado and its tributaries has long been a beloved feature of life in the Southwest. Threats are being realized.

• July 31: Farm fields in many places have been fallowed. A showdown between agriculture and urban uses is likely in the wake of federal calls for massive conservation.

• Aug. 7: Front Range cities including Colorado Springs, Denver and many others rely on Colorado River water. Other cities in the basin that do, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas, have issued mandatory restrictions.

To read previous installments: gazette.com/ special-coverage/colorado-river