Water hauling is the new chore no rancher asked for

MONTROSE, Colo. (AP) — As water shot into an open stock tank atop a high country mesa, a trickle soaked the dusty earth below. Scott Snyder rose from the shade to fasten a hose and stop the spillage.

“It's just so much work. I hate dropping any of it,” said Snyder, who operates Mex and Sons Ranch near Montrose, Colorado, with his family.

It took eight trips in three vehicles over nine hours in sweltering heat before the 800 cow-calf pairs finally had enough water to make it through to the next day — maybe two.

Hauling water across rugged landscapes has become a daily chore for many ranchers in the U.S. Rockies. They historically relied on snowmelt to sustain stock ponds, springs and creeks for livestock to drink throughout the summer, but this year's snowpack was the worst on record in the Upper Colorado River Basin, which includes Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. Human-caused climate change made the snow drought about 14 times more likely, a new study confirms.

Coping with the impacts of minimal snow and a so far lackluster monsoon season is requiring more time, money and stress from producers who are already struggling to maintain family legacies and meet America's demand for beef.

Snyder and his brother Monte are adapting. Like many other ranchers, they shrunk their herd, bought hay to supplement what little they could grow, shuttled cows farther to reach grazable land, and are constantly monitoring whether wildfires are blowing their way. And now, they are hauling drinking water.

“If Mother Nature doesn't want to help out here, we're probably in a lot of trouble,” Snyder said.

Still, the Snyders count themselves lucky. A nearby landowner charges them to refill their 6,500-gallon (24,600-liter) water tanker from a reservoir. Late last week, he pulled up alongside another truck carrying a 3,000-gallon (11,360 liter) tank to water sheep.

Mark Ragsdale's phone rings off the hook with neighbors asking the same question: Where can I find water?

During the day, he works as the state's water commissioner for Norwood, where his cousin Snyder ranches. But morning, afternoon and evening, he is also hauling water to his small herd of 45 cow-calf pairs. He counts his luck that his solar-powered well is still producing and his herd is nearby.

His Dodge Ram's tires churned through a muddy depression on a dirt road on a recent morning water run — a welcome sign of the first monsoonal rain that arrived the night before.

“It's gonna take 10 years of above-normal (precipitation) to get back to what I consider normal,” Ragsdale said.

The good news is that this year's snow drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin was so severe, the odds of a repeat this bad in the near future is low, said Adrienne Marshall, assistant professor of geology at the Colorado School of Mines and lead author on the study. Still, multiple years of lesser droughts can compound, and the odds of an extreme snow drought grow each year as greenhouse gas emissions, the main driver of climate change, continue to rise, she explained.

The record-setting low snow, after years of drought, prompted the Brays to expand their water truck fleet this year. Lance Bray, who owns 500 head with his brother Zandon, bought a flatbed truck with more than 300,000 miles (482,800 kilometers) on it to haul a 2,600-gallon (9,842-liter) water tank. It's now their third flatbed dedicated for the chore.

Ranchers can apply for reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cover above-normal costs to transport water and feed due to drought, but there's no getting back their time.

“I'm gonna fight like hell this year so I can turn around and fight like hell next year,” Zandon Bray said. He and his brother restarted the cattle operation two years after the 2018 drought season prompted their dad to sell the herd.

They love ranching and are trying to operate more sustainably, running fewer head than their father did when grass was more plentiful and nutritious. But the emotional toll grows heavier as each year passes without meaningful moisture.

“Sometimes it’s by 10 o’clock in the morning or by the end of the day, you’re just like, man, I can’t do this anymore,” Zandon Bray said.

The weight of water tanks on Stanford Salazar's trailer caused a tire blowout that obliterated the rim. He was already running late to his day job at the Jicarilla Apache planning office in northern New Mexico.

It has been five years since hauling stock water became a daily chore for Salazar. Few of his 14 ponds hold any water these days.

“With the changing of weather, we’re not getting big winters. We used to get 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) of snow in winter. Now we’re lucky to get a foot,” Salazar said.

In central Utah, Jeff Christensen is drilling two 500-foot (152-meter) deep wells he hopes will reduce his hauling chores. But first they need to reach the water table, which is lower now without as much snowmelt to refill it.

"I think they’re dang close to 20 grand a well now. So if we don’t hit water, we’re in trouble,” he said.

Half the cost is being covered with a grant from Utah's Grazing Improvement Program, which invests millions annually to create more sustainable, productive ranches.

“I spend the majority of my time on water," Christensen said. "I’m either hauling it, cussing the lack of it, or trying to find more of it.”

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

Scott Snyder looks at a dry stock pond on his grazing allotment, July 16, 2026 near Montrose, Colo. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Cattle stand near stock tanks, July 16, 2026, near Montrose, Colo. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

A tank overflows as Scott Snyder transfers water for his cattle, July 16, 2026 near Montrose, Colo. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Mark Ragsdale refills a stock tank, July 17, 2026 in Redvale, Colo. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Lance Bray stands in front of a truck he purchased this spring for hauling stock water, July 17, 2026 in Redvale, Colo. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

Scott Snyder checks to see how much water his cows have, July 16, 2026 near Montrose, Colo. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Supporters of the International Criminal Court were trying to chart a course forward on Saturday, a day after the global institution was plunged into uncharted territory following the ouster of its chief prosecutor over allegations of sexual misconduct.

A lengthy and bruising process ended swiftly and decisively on Friday, when a large majority of the court’s 125 member states voted to remove Karim Khan from his post.

The British barrister was accused of sexual misconduct with a female aide, as outlined by the AP in a series of stories, allegations he has steadfastly denied. According to documents seen by the AP, Khan engaged in a sexual relationship with the woman and tried to prevent her from pursuing her allegations.

Khan's removal comes at a time when the court is already facing daunting challenges, including a campaign by the United States to “dismantle” the ICC, which was established to prosecute people responsible for humanity’s worst crimes.

Several countries where the ICC has open investigations met together on the sidelines of the event on Friday to discuss the ways out of any potential impasses created by Khan’s removal, according to three senior diplomatic officials familiar with the discussions.

One of the officials said a number of states began planning for how to move forward before the final votes were tallied.

“Whether Khan is removed or not, we must bring everyone back together,” the official said. They all spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

A special session at U.N. headquarters in New York was scheduled to take all of Friday. Instead, a morning motion that would have made it harder to oust Khan failed and diplomats quickly moved forward to vote on removal, several hours ahead of schedule, according to three diplomats familiar with the proceedings.

Iva Vukusic, a researcher at Utrecht University who has been following the process, said she was surprised by how decisive it was. “The numbers indicate that there is more agreement than previously thought,” she told the AP.

The decision comes at a time when the global tribunal is under enormous pressure. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that Washington was launching a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.”

Hours after Friday’s vote, Venezuela announced it would withdraw from the court, saying its work reflects a “demonstrated geographical bias.” Félix Plasencia, the country’s foreign affairs minister, made the announcement in a statement.

Trump’s administration already has brought sanctions against Khan and a dozen other ICC staff in retaliation for investigations into Israeli officials in Gaza and U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan.

The allegations became entwined with the court’s investigation into the war in Gaza, with Khan’s supporters arguing that the warrants the court has issued for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were at stake.

Palestinian representatives were quick to push back on that narrative. “The vote by the Assembly of States Parties to remove the Prosecutor was not a political proxy vote on any Situation before the ICC,” Palestinian Ambassador to the Netherlands Ammar Hijazi said in a statement.

Khan’s removal will have no immediate impact on the arrest warrants which can only be withdrawn by ICC judges.

Khan’s two deputy prosecutors have helmed the office since he stepped down in May 2025. In a statement, the office of the prosecutor said the pair will continue with its “leadership, management and administration,” until a new chief is selected.

It is not clear yet when member states will be able to decide on Khan’s replacement. His election in 2021 took nearly 18 months and drew criticism from civil society groups over the lack of stringent background checks on the candidates to ensure they met the requirement of “high moral character.”

The removal vote may not be the end of the process for Khan. He intends to “challenge the lawfulness and fairness of the decision through all available legal mechanisms,” attorney Tayab Ali said in a statement.

There is no appeals process for his removal but all ICC staff are entitled to bring complaints to a special labor tribunal based in Geneva.

Khan’s lawyers criticized the process leading to his ouster, complaining that he was blocked from addressing the session Friday and arguing the regulations had been rewritten to disadvantage him.

On Monday, lawyers and investigators will return to the court’s headquarters in The Hague with at least some clarity about the future. “I hope now the court can move on and focus on its core work of dealing with cases,” Vukusic said.

FILE - Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan talks before convening the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool, File)