Over 100 Public Leaders, Business Owners, Local Farmers Call for Protections for Colorado’s Rivers

Environment Colorado

Denver, Colorado—State Senator Lucia Guzman, Commerce City Mayor Pro Tem Dominick Moreno, Dvorak Expeditions owner Bill Dvorak, and Confluence Kayaks owner Alex Manzo joined Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center at the Colorado State Capitol to call on President Barack Obama to restore Clean Water Act protections to the Colorado River and waterways across Colorado and the country.

Together, they delivered to James Martin, EPA Regional Administrator of Region 8, letters signed by 117 elected officials, farmers, and outdoor recreation businesses across Colorado who strongly support moving forward to permanently restore protections to these waterways, for the 40th anniversary of the landmark Clean Water Act.

“To be able to truly celebrate forty years of cleaner water, we need to protect all our treasured rivers – the Colorado, the South Platte, the Arkansas and the Cache la Poudre – by restoring the Clean Water Act,” said Patrick Stelmach, Field Organizer with Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center.  “The good news is that President Obama has started taking us down the road to cleaner water.  Now he needs to tie a bow on the clean water present for all Americans.” 

The South Platte River is cherished by millions in Denver and across Colorado. Coloradans depend on it as a major source of drinking water for the Eastern part of the state, and for kayaking and fishing. Furthermore, all Coloradans need clean water for drinking water, fishing, swimming, agriculture, and recreation.

As the Clean Water Act turns forty, it faces severe limitations. In fact, due to several poor Supreme Court decisions over the past decade, 62% percent of Colorado’s streams and 3.7 million Coloradans’ drinking water are at risk of pollution.

“As a Colorado State Senator, I know that my constituents need clean water for drinking water, fishing, swimming, agriculture, recreation, and the wellbeing of their communities,” said Senator Lucía Guzmán, Senate District 34.

The event comes at another key moment for the Clean Water Act: President Obama has proposed guidelines to restore critical Clean Water Act protections to these waters and now is considering finalizing them and making them permanent.  

“The time is now for President Obama to restore Clean Water Act protections,” Commerce City Mayor Pro Tem Dominick Moreno said. “The people standing with me today and who signed these letters show that people in Colorado want their water clean, and they want all of Colorado’s rivers, streams and creeks protected from pollution for many years to come. 

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Environment Colorado is a citizen-based state environmental advocacy organization. For more information, visit www.environmentcolorado.org.