The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission on Tuesday adopted a new set of temperature standards to protect aquatic life in the state’s rivers, streams and lakes.
“The fish won the day,” said Nicole Vieira, water-quality specialist for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. “It’s trendsetting.”
The standards, which still must be finalized, will protect about 85 percent of stream miles in cold-water streams, Vieira said.
Fish cannot self-regulate their body temperature and are vulnerable to excessive or rapid changes in the water temperature.
Temperature standards have been on the books for more than 25 years, but they were rarely, if ever, applied.
For several years, environmental and sportsmen’s groups have been urging the state to adopt a new set of rules.
The state’s water-quality division worked on a proposal for more than two years, in collaboration with environmental groups, cities and industries.
The governor-appointed commission heard two days of highly technical testimony from environmentalists, industry representatives and state water-quality division staffers, as well as the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The nine-member commission unanimously approved two sets of standards.
An interim standard set for gold-medal fisheries and rivers with cutthroat and brook trout will go into effect in 2007.
Another set will be used by river-basin commissions – whose meetings may be as long as six years away.
“We cannot let trout streams go without for potentially five to six years,” Vieira said.
Under the long-term standards, rivers and streams that have cutthroat and/or brook trout must meet an average temperature of 63 degrees Fahrenheit and no more than 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the interim, rivers and streams with cutthroat or brook trout that are above 7,000 feet must meet an average temperature of 63 degrees Fahrenheit. Gold-medal fisheries must meet an average temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Water dischargers must now adhere to the rules or prove no cutthroat trout are in the streams or rivers.
“We actually did get what we were looking for,” said Mely Whiting, an attorney for Trout Unlimited.
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer may be reached at 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
