The Daily Rundown: September 23, 2026
💧 Amazon is launching a two-year effort to raise $100 million for water conservation around the Colorado River. According to reporting by the Mountain West News Bureau’s Alex Hager, they’re starting with $20 million to fix leaky pipes and make tribal farms more efficient.
Amazon says it’s trying to alleviate some of the imbalance between supply and demand on the Colorado River. Will Hewes, the company’s water sustainability lead, says threats to the long-term water supply are a problem for its business and the communities it works in.
“Companies that benefit from being in that basin have an opportunity and really a responsibility to help solve those problems.”
Amazon’s announcement is part of a trend, as a number of large companies have started funding water-saving work. But much more money is needed to help the depleted Colorado River. Business and environmental groups called for $2 billion from the federal government to help the region adapt to dry times.
🏞️ Reservoirs across the West are slowly losing space to store water as dirt, sand and other sediment pile up behind dams, according to new, sweeping nationwide research.
Researchers with the science journal Nature modeled sediment buildup in more than 57,000 U.S. reservoirs. Collectively, they estimate the reservoirs have lost roughly 8% of their original storage capacity. But the losses are much greater in many individual reservoirs: About two out of five have lost more than one-quarter of their storage capacity.
The Colorado, Columbia and Rio Grande river basins are among the hardest hit.
Abigail Eckland, a researcher at Louisiana State University, New Orleans, who led the study, said those losses can be especially important in drier climates, like out West.
“In the West, we have more environments that are arid to semi-arid,” Eckland said. “We build reservoirs so that we can store water during wet years, and then use that water during dry years.”
Rivers naturally carry sediment downstream. But when water enters a reservoir, it slows down, allowing dirt, sand and other material to settle to the bottom. Over time, that buildup takes up space that otherwise could hold water.
That can become particularly important during prolonged droughts, Eckland said, when Western reservoirs may already be at lower levels and have fewer opportunities to refill. Water also tends to remain in Western reservoirs longer than in wetter parts of the country.
Wildfires could also add to the problem. Read the full story by the Mountain West News Bureau's Kaleb Roedel here.
🚰 The National Park Service has announced tentative dates for restoring water to residents after a flash flood caused significant damage.
Grand Canyon National Park is working on an agreement to replenish water storage tanks for a new water treatment plant by Nov. 16.
The park will pump water from the Bright Angel Creek intake.
Distribution to residents could begin by Thanksgiving, according to the National Park Service, although officials say these dates are tentative.
Stage 4 water restrictions remain in effect.
🎰 A purported Caesars Entertainment investor formally demanded access to company financial records prior to the vote on Tilman Fertitta’s proposed $17 billion acquisition. That’s according to Casino.org.
Citing Delaware corporate law, the investor claims Caesars failed to disclose that its legal firm, Latham & Watkins LLP, also works with entities tied to Fertitta Entertainment.
Caesars dismissed the claim as baseless and legally unnecessary.
The Review-Journal reported that shareholders voted to consider the acquisition Tuesday, but the company hadn’t revealed the results at press time. It must report the results to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission within four business days.
⚖️ Nevada Attorney General and 2026 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Aaron Ford says he supports the Paramount and Warner Bros. antitrust deal.
He said as much to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, adding, “We have some great protections for movies and for theaters and for workers and for the independence of the media.”
The California-led suit, which Ford and Nevada joined, aimed to block the merger of the two media giants. On Monday, the suit was dropped in exchange for concessions, including investments and worker agreements.
This puts Ford in alignment with campaign trail partner California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Newsom expressed economic concerns about the state’s lawsuit. David Ellison, Paramount CEO, issued a statement thanking Newsom for his support.
🏀 With a win over the Los Angeles Sparks last night, the Aces have clinched home-court advantage in the playoffs. The final day of the WNBA regular season is Thursday.
If the Aces keep the No. 3 seed, their opponent in the No. 6 seed will likely be either the Indiana Fever or the Washington Mystics. The New York Liberty also have an outside chance at the No. 6 seed.
The Aces have a losing record against the Fever, including a 109-75 blowout, while they hold a winning record against the Mystics.
Part of these stories are taken from KNPR's daily newscast segment. To hear more daily updates like these, tune in to 88.9 KNPR FM.
