From the Casper Star-Tribune (Trevor Graff):
The Colorado River Basin states are completing a required triennial review of water quality standards in that river. The forum of basin states released its report earlier in the month. As an upper basin state, Wyoming plays a large role in helping to prevent the rise of salinity in Colorado River waters.
The state’s agricultural producers can often decrease the amount of salt in the river by choosing more efficient irrigation practices that don’t use as much water.
“By reducing the salt, it reduces the damages to water users and the cost of treatments associated with salinity,” said David Waterstreet, program manager for the water quality division of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. “This allows us to develop water in the upper basin states and meet our requirements with moving water to Mexico.”
Wyoming officials said the new report wouldn’t change the state’s implementation of measures aimed to curb salinity.
“The meat of it hasn’t changed in a number of years, but to fulfill the requirement of the Clean Water Act, we undergo a triennial review,” said Lindsay Patterson, natural resources program supervisor at the DEQ.
More Colorado River Basin coverage here.