This desk reference tackles the complex system of water quality laws and regulations governing the safety of drinking water and the protection of lakes and streams. From the headwaters to the plains, this guide helps explain the risks and investigate the solutions to our water quality problems.

The updated second edition of this guide provides an overview of water quality issues important to Colorado. It summarizes the water quality protection framework currently in place at a national, state and local level to ensure that we protect, restore and maintain the quality of our most important resource--water.

This useful desk reference, authored by Justice Gregory Hobbs Jr., explores the basics of Colorado water law, how it developed, and how it is applied today. Readers can learn more about surface water and groundwater allocation and regulation, understand concepts such as interstate compacts, or read about how a "call" for water works.

The need for improved water resource protection, beginning with grassroots action, is urgent. The water we use depends on networks of wetlands, streams, and watersheds. Land-use activities, however, are changing these natural systems. Often these changes result in ecological damage, flooding, water pollution, and reduced water supply. We need a healthy environment that sustains our personal and community health; we also need vibrant and sustainable economic development that does not destroy the benefits we derive from nature. Our ability to accomplish both depends on how well we can "connect the drops." In this book, Karen Schneller-McDonald presents the basics of water resource protection: ecology and watershed science; techniques for evaluating environmental impacts; obstacles to protection and how to overcome them; and tips for protection strategies that maximize chances for success. Schneller-McDonald makes clear the important connections among natural cycles, watersheds, and ecosystems; the benefits they provide; and how specific development activities affect water quality and supply. The methods described in Connecting the Drops have broad application in diverse geographic locations. The environmental details may differ, but the methods are the same. For water resource managers and concerned citizens alike, Connecting the Drops helps readers interpret scientific information and contextualize news media reports and industry ads—ultimately offering "how to" guidance for developing resource protection strategies.