In late August 2024, the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission officially designated 385 miles across 15 rivers and streams in the Upper and Lower Colorado, Eagle, Yampa, and Roaring Fork River basins as Outstanding Waters.
The Outstanding Waters designation, authorized by the Colorado Water Quality Control Act and the Clean Water Act, protects high-quality waterways that benefit nature, wildlife, and recreation from future harm, such as development, mining, oil and gas extraction, or excessive pollution. This will preserve these waterways for generations to come, providing clean drinking water, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities, and ensuring that local communities are more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
TCA is proud to have granted American Rivers $35,000 for this project in 2023, who worked alongside numerous other conservation organizations as part of The Colorado River Basin Outstanding Waters Coalition with the goal of safeguarding clean water throughout Colorado. The Coalition was able to garner broad-based support from across the state and from diverse stakeholder groups, including private landowners and ranchers, government officials, water districts, businesses, recreationists, and community members.
