Environmental Monitoring

Understanding Water Quality Across Our Waterways

Clean water is essential for healthy communities, thriving ecosystems and reliable water supplies. 

Water quality affects nearly every aspect of life in Colorado. It influences the safety and reliability of our drinking water, the health of fish and aquatic habitats and the quality of recreational experiences in our lakes, rivers and reservoirs. When water quality declines, it can impact public health, aquatic life and the long-term sustainability of our water resources. 

Working in partnership with federal, state and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, research institutions and other stakeholders, Northern Water conducts extensive water quality monitoring on both sides of the Continental Divide. These long-term monitoring programs provide critical information about current conditions, identify trends over time and help guide management decisions that protect water resources for future generations. 

Standard Operating Procedures for Water Quality Monitoring
Water Quality Data
Two people doing water quality sampling from a boat in a lake.

150 Locations

Water Quality Testing Sites

20 Years

of continuous water quality testing

220 Miles

of testing from east to west through our boundaries

50 miles

of testing from north to south through our boundaries
Man in a life vest on a boat dropping a water quality monitoring tool into the water.

Comprehensive Monitoring Across Northern Colorado 

Northern Water maintains a diverse network of monitoring programs throughout the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, Windy Gap Project, Chimney Hollow Reservoir Project, Northern Integrated Supply Project and surrounding watersheds. Some monitoring efforts are regional in scale, while others focus on specific reservoirs, rivers, canals or project sites to address localized water quality concerns. 

The objectives of these monitoring programs include: 

  • Tracking changes in water quality across locations and over time.
  • Assessment of compliance with state and federal water quality regulations.
  • Fulfillment of environmental monitoring and permit requirements for major water supply projects.
  • Evaluating potential water quality changes associated with existing and future water infrastructure.
  • Providing context following wildfires, floods, spills and other events that can affect watershed health.
  • Supporting scientific studies, watershed assessments, predictive models and management decisions.
  • Proactively monitoring emerging contaminants and other developing water quality concerns.

What We Measure

Our monitoring programs evaluate a wide range of physical, chemical and biological indicators. Together, these measurements provide a comprehensive understanding of watershed health and help identify potential issues before they become larger problems. 

  • Nutrients
  • Metals
  • General water chemistry
  • Physical parameters
  • Salinity
  • Water temperature
  • Phytoplankton and Zooplankton
  • Aquatic macroinvertebrates
  • Fish tissue mercury
  • Compounds of emerging concern

Supporting Stewardship, Collaboration and Excellence 

Northern Water's water quality monitoring programs promote our organizational values. By investing in long-term monitoring and collaborative science, Northern Water helps ensure that Colorado's lakes, reservoirs, rivers and streams remain healthy, resilient and sustainable for generations to come. 

Stewardship

We monitor and protect water quality throughout northern Colorado, using data to inform water operations, watershed management and restoration efforts. 

Collaboration

We work closely with agencies, municipalities, watershed groups, researchers and other partners to share information, coordinate monitoring efforts and address regional water quality challenges. 

Excellence

We are committed to producing high-quality, scientifically defensible data through rigorous quality assurance and quality control procedures, advanced analytical tools and transparent technical reporting. 

Water Quality Site Map

This map shows water quality sites operated by Northern Water. The layer list widget provides a list of layers and their symbols and allows individual layers to be turned on and off. Each layer has a check box that allows visibility control. The legend widget displays labels and symbols for layers within the map. The default map view shows all active water quality sites. Locations for specific monitoring programs can be turned on by checking the pertinent layer(s) from the layer list widget in the top right of the map.