Water issues - Rocky Mountain Voice

Rural towns squeezed by state’s bureaucratic delays and shifting wastewater mandates

Water Education Colorado, Approved, State / April 16, 2025 / Administrative state, CDPHE, Government agencies, Government overregulation, Rural Colorado, Wastewater treatment permits, Water issues

Dozens of small towns in Colorado have banded together to protest new wastewater treatment permits that are designed to protect state rivers and streams, saying they contain new rules that are too costly to implement and they haven’t had time to make the necessary changes to comply.

The controversy comes as climate change and drought reduce stream flows and cause water temperatures to rise, and as population growth increases the amount of wastewater being discharged to Colorado’s rivers.

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Judge halts Gross Reservoir project—despite 60% completion and looming water risks

kdvr.com, Approved, Local / April 8, 2025 / Courts, Denver, Gross Reservoir, Water issues

A federal judge ruled on Thursday that Denver Water is permanently barred from expanding the reservoir if an emergency stay is not obtained from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals within 14 days.

The utility provider has been working to increase the height of the Gross Reservoir dam by 131 feet for over a decade. The project broke ground in 2022 and Denver Water says the project is already 60% complete.

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Walcher: The EPA’s end run around the Supreme Court

Approved, Commentary, Greg Walcher / June 12, 2024 / Commentary, Greg Walcher, Water issues, Water rights

Many Westerners celebrated earlier this year when the Supreme Court finally declared once and for all that “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) does not include every creek, pond, ditch, puddle, and parking lot drain in the country.

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Ten bills passed in session, earning some bipartisan support, aimed to address variety of water issues

Approved, State, The Colorado Sun / May 17, 2024 / Legislative Session, Water issues, Water rights

Colorado lawmakers gave the thumbs-up to 10 water measures this year that will bring millions of dollars in new funding to help protect streams, bring oversight to construction activities in wetlands and rivers, make commercial rainwater harvesting easier and support efforts to restore the clarity of Grand Lake.

Ten bills passed in session, earning some bipartisan support, aimed to address variety of water issues Read More »