We need your help to protect clean water throughout Colorado. This June the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission will be making a decision on whether or not 16 streams with exceptionally clean water in the Upper and Lower Colorado, Eagle, Yampa, and Roaring Fork river basins deserve critical Outstanding Waters (OW) protections. Please add your name to the petition below in support of clean water in Colorado.
Dear Water Quality Control Commission:
As a Coloradoan who cares about the health of our rivers for people and the environment, I request that the Water Quality Control Commission designate the 18 proposed stream segments as Outstanding Waters (OW).
These stream segments have been shown to meet all the requirements for designation as OWs including meeting or exceeding the 12 water quality standards set by the state, having outstanding natural resource values such as critical aquatic habitat or recreational use, and meeting the requirement of needing additional protections for a number of reasons including increasing downstream resiliency, increasing water temperatures and increased wildfire impacts. Significant community outreach has been conducted to inform stakeholders and gain support for this proposal.
These OW candidates provide critical aquatic habitat contributing to robust riparian ecosystems and offer exceptional recreational opportunities like fishing, swimming, and paddling. They are sources of vital, high-quality water for people, agriculture, and wildlife. This clean water is not only important to the overall health and resilience of the rivers in the region but by extension the health of the communities, ecosystems, and economies connected to it.
It is more important than ever to protect sources of clean water for both people and the environment. Outstanding Waters protections for these high quality streams respects the role of clean water as the lifeblood of our communities and ensures that the clean waters of Colorado are conserved for future generations.
We call on the Water Quality Control Commission to designate these 16 exceptional streams as Outstanding Waters.