Colorado’s Waters: At Risk
Colorado’s waterways are an important part of our natural heritage, providing us with drinking water and places to swim and fish.
Over the last 30 years, we have made significant strides in cleaning up our water, but we still have important work to do. Too many of our rivers and streams still struggle from too much pollution. Rather than improving water quality, however, the Bush administration has established a No Protection policy for America’s waters that removes basic protections of the Clean Water Act for the small streams, wetlands and ponds that nourish our great waters.
The Bush administration should drop this policy immediately and Congress should restore the original intent of the Clean Water Act to protect all waters in the U.S.
Small Streams Feed Big Rivers
Public health and the environment depend on clean water, and intermittent streams, small streams and wetlands are the lifeblood of the nation’s diverse water systems.
These streams and wetlands feed and clean Colorado’s large rivers and lakes by supplying water, filtering out pollutants, trapping soil and sediment, slowing flood waters and providing habitat for fish and other wildlife.
The water quality of entire river and lake basins depends on the health of the streams and wetlands that are the source waters.
No Protection Policy
In 2003, the Bush administration established a policy that removes Clean Water Act protections from many of America’s streams, wetlands, ponds and lakes, including intermittent streams that populate Colorado.
As a result of this No Protection policy, tens of thousands of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands are at risk from unchecked development, pollution and destruction.
The Bush administration’s own Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that nationwide 20 million acres of wetlands, 20% of the total wetlands in the continental U.S., could lose protection because of this policy.
More Pollution in Our Great Waters
As intermittent streams, small streams and wetlands are damaged or destroyed by the No Protection policy, the rivers and lakes they feed will be harmed. This means this policy will affect large rivers like the Colorado River.
Protecting All of America’s Waters
We need to restore the health and integrity of Colorado’s waterways so that we have clean water for generations to come.
For more than 30 years, the Clean Water Act has protected the waters of the U.S., including intermittent streams, small streams and wetlands. The federal government must take action now to ensure that all of America’s waters continue to be protected.
Environment Colorado is calling on the federal government to:
• Immediately drop the No Protection policy.
• Fully enforce clean water laws.
• Restore the original intent of the Clean Water Act to protect all waters in the U.S.
Please help us in this effort by asking your Congressional representative to vote for the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007. Congresswoman DeGette was an original co-sponsor of this bill; however, Congresspeople Udall, Salazar, Musgrave, Perlmutter, Tancredo and Lamborn did not take the opportunity to co-sponsor this bill. Please make sure they, and Colorado Senators Allard and Salazar when the bill gets to the Senate, know how important it is to you that all of our rivers, streams and lakes in Colorado be protected by the Clean Water Act. Please take a minute to urge them to vote for the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007.
