Description

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Award-winning journalist Zak Podmore brings to life the magnificent terrain and complex politics of the Colorado River, its dying reservoirs, and the natural and cultural histories of Glen Canyon that are reemerging as Lake Powell shrinks to record lows.

"Life After Dead Pool is a fascinating account of how climate change and drought are forcing a radical reimagining of western water management. For everyone who cherishes the great wild canyons of the West, investigative journalist Zak Podmore gives us solace, insight, and maybe even hope."
--DAVID QUAMMEN, Spillover and The Heartbeat of the Wild

Since it began filling in 1963, Lake Powell has been central to water management for much of the western US. But now, after more than two decades of drought, the Colorado River has been stretched to the breaking point. Due to a changing climate and design flaws in the Glen Canyon Dam, this once-massive reservoir is on the brink of collapse -- leaving the millions of people who depend on its waters at risk. Podmore explores the challenges ahead with a focus on the bright side of the water crisis: the surprising ecological rebirth that's already unfolding in Glen Canyon.

Through clear science writing and lyrical prose, Life After Dead Pool debunks the notion that the West's water challenges are unsolvable and invites us to secure a future where Glen Canyon returns in its wild glory and the Colorado River once again runs free.

About the Author

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Zak Podmore is an award-winning author and journalist who has spent more than a decade writing about water and conservation issues in the western United States. His first book, Confluence: Navigating the Personal & Political on Rivers of the New West (Torrey House Press), was selected for Outside magazine's 12 Favorite Earth Day Reads and the Pacific Standard's 25 Must-Read Books of Fall 2019. He is the recipient of the Ellen Meloy Desert Writers award and was the Entrada Institute's writer-in-residence in 2023. Most recently, Zak was the southern Utah reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune. He lives in Bluff, Utah.