Friends of the Poudre Winter/Spring 2001 Newsletter
The past year included a couple of other firsts for Friends. We participated in our first Triennial Review, a water quality review, which happens every three years as a result of the Clean Water Act. In these reviews the state reassesses the uses, which each part of all the streams in the state are used for, and assigns new use classifications to those segments as necessary. The Poudre was reviewed in 2000 and we participated in the hearings, which were held by the State Water Quality Control Commission in Denver. Several of the segments in the Poudre basin were upgraded as new uses were recognized. These changes resulted in more stringent water quality standards for much of the river and its tributaries. Most notable was the designation of all of the main stem and most of the tributaries as Recreation 1-a. The concentrations of fecal coliform and e-coli permitted in streams with this designation are much lower than Recreation 2, which was the former classification of much of the lower part of the river. This change means that the entire main stem of the river is considered to be used for swimming or other full contact recreation. This means the river will be safer for these activities and that dischargers will need to recognize these standards in future permitting efforts. Other areas of improvement were Outstanding Waters and fish ingestion standards.
We were the one citizen advocacy group to organize support for these changes. This is a process that few in the environmental community participate in because of its complexity, legalistic format, and technical nature. This is a real step forward for our organization and makes us a player in the discussion of water quality in the basin. Thanks to our friends from Citizen Planners, Audubon and the Sierra Club for taking the time to be at the hearing with us.