Environmental Water Quality
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What is our water quality?
The Colorado Department of Health does not test all viable water sources. Because this data only reflects select water segments that are “at risk” for quality to some degree, the measurement and graph above do not reflect a blanket rating of the overall quality of water in each county.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies some bodies of water as having quality issues, and therefore places them on a 303(d) list for monitoring under two categories: 1) Body (lake or pond) and 2) Segment (stream or river). The data available for quality of water reflects reporting on heavy metals, bio-hazard waste and sediment. Using GIS information, The Team identified segments in the Core Counties, and then evaluated stream flow based on 303(d) rankings of low, medium or high to weight the overall quality.
For example, the two water segments in Routt County that are 303(d)-designated by the EPA are Elk Creek in the California Park area and Dry Creek below the Seneca Mine near Hayden. Neither of these two segments are either significant in length or use. For example, neither is used for recreation or drinking water.
The fact is that Routt County (and possibly the other Core counties as well) has a very good overall water quality, because the primary sources that are used for recreational and drinking purposes have not been determined to be impaired according to the EPA 303(d) List. For the purpose of this Index, this data enables for the tracking of changes over time for the bodies of water within each county that have quality issues. More data will be added and tracked in the Index as it becomes available, such as measurement of sediment and aquatic life.Water in Routt County is essential for agriculture, municipal, utility, recreation, wildlife and aquatic life. It is important to identify and track both quality and quantity of water.
Comparable data in all 10 counties was collected, and estimated total stream flow for the counties was calculated. Estimated stream flow for 303(d) water segments was also collected.
Using GIS information, the Team isolated stream segments in the counties, and then weighted the EPA rankings to produce a measurement for this category.
The data has not been updated since the prior year, thus the decision was made to use the same data again.