Colorado Rivers Project

At risk: 65,000 miles of Colorado’s streams

Right now, 65,000 miles of Colorado’s streams and hundreds of acres of wetlands are vulnerable to pollution and development. Polluters can dump garbage into streams, developers can pave over wetlands to build strip malls, and the cops on the environmental beat can’t do a thing about it. And it’s not just small streams and wetlands that will suffer — these waterways are the same ones that feed the Arkansas, the South Platte and all of our rivers and help to keep them clean.

Polluters poke holes in Clean Water Act

For nearly 40 years, the Clean Water Act has helped Colorado — and states across the nation — care for and clean up our waterways. Thanks in large part to this groundbreaking law, rivers are no longer so polluted that they catch fire, as Ohio’s Cuyahoga infamously did in 1969. Still, much work remains to be done. Our report, “Wasting our Waterways” found that polluters dumped 3.3 million tons of toxic chemicals into Colorado’s rivers in a single year. We need to do more to protect our waters — not less. 

Unfortunately, over the past decade, polluters and irresponsible developers have used the courts to put Clean Water Act protections in legal limbo, arguing that the law doesn’t cover the smaller streams and wetlands that feed and clean the Arkansas, the South Platte, and all of Colorado’s rivers. They want to throw out nearly 40 years of Clean Water Act protection, leaving polluting industries free to dump into our streams and pave over our wetlands without asking for permission.

The EPA can protect our rivers

Since 2006, we have been urging Congress to protect our rivers by simply declaring that the Clean Water Act applies to all of Colorado’s — and America’s — waters. But, stymied at every turn by industry lobbyists and powerful special interests, we turned instead to the EPA for action. 

Environment Colorado has been calling on EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to restore protections to all of our waters. In April, she announced a plan to do just that. But polluters’ allies in Congress won’t give up — and now they’re threatening to stop the EPA from doing its job. 

At the same time, powerful corporate interests are preparing for battle: ExxonMobil threatened “legal warfare” if the EPA moves forward with its plan to restore Clean Water Act protections. 

Our plan to defend Colorado’s rivers 

We refuse to let polluters and their allies in Congress open our precious waterways to more dumping and development. We’re bringing together Coloradans from all walks of life to protect the Arkansas, the South Platte, and all of our rivers. From anglers to white-water enthusiasts, clergy to scientists, local officials to ordinary families, we all have a stake in keeping our water clean. 

Our citizen outreach staff has been knocking on doors across the state, educating Colorodans about what’s at stake. In July, we joined with coalition partners Trout Unlimited and Clean Water Action to deliver more than 20,000 public comments in support of strong clean water regulations.

With more than one million Coloradans visiting our state’s rivers each year to raft, kayak, or fish, it’s no wonder so many people are standing up for clean water. But if we’re going to push past ExxonMobil and other powerful polluters, we’re going to need everyone who cares about Colorado’s rivers to get involved. Join our campaign by sending the EPA a message today.