In total,132 public programs will be offered in the 22 project sites. All program formats are organized around the Rights, Realities, and Rites themes - the radio programs, exhibit, web site, lecture series, and other elements all incorporate the three-theme architectureÑbuilding on and enforcing one another. The 22 sites will each receive a project manual before any public programs begin, explaining how all of the components relate, and providing advice for developing their own local programming. A grant line has been committed from each state Humanities Council to support local projects that relate and link to Colorado River: Moving Waters in the Arid West.

The components of Colorado River: Moving Waters in the Arid West include:
"Message in a Bottle": Bookend Lectures
"Moving Waters Across the Air": A Radio Documentary
"River on the Move": A Traveling Exhibit
"The Law of the River": Introductory Legal History Presentation
"Reading the River": A Lecture Book-Discussion Series
"Moving Waters in the 21st Century": A Web Site
"The River in Words": A Final Publication (proposed)