Surface Water Quality Standards
Contact
Rules and Regulations
Guidance Documents
Triennial Review Working Group
Related Programs
Wyoming’s surface water quality standards include designated uses, water quality criteria, and antidegradation provisions to protect and restore Wyoming’s surface waters.
The standards are developed to be consistent with the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act and federal Clean Water Act using scientific principles, available data and supporting information, as well as public input.
Current Standards and Implementation Methods
- Wyoming’s Surface Water Quality Standards, Chapter 1, Water Quality Rules, last updated April 24, 2018
- Implementation Policies for Antidegradation, Mixing Zones and Dilution Allowances, and Use Attainability Analysis, last revised September 24, 2013
- Interim Policy on Establishing Effluent Limits for Permitted Point Source Discharges to Class 1 Water Tributaries, developed in 2007.
- Surface Water Quality Standards Summary.pdf
condenses the standards into a single document - Wyoming-Surface-Water-Classification-List.pdf
can be used to identify the designated uses that apply to particular surface waters - Recreation Designated Uses Web Map can be used to identify the recreational designated uses assigned to surface waters
- Salinity Standards adopted through the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum are applicable to surface waters in within the Colorado River Basin.
Modifications to Standards
Triennial Review
- Wyoming’s surface water quality standards are currently under review, as required by the federal Clean Water Act
Nutrient Pollution
- Efforts to Address Nutrient Pollution in Wyoming’s surface waters
Temperature Criteria and Fisheries Designated Uses
- In anticipation of updating Wyoming fisheries designated uses and associated temperature criteria, Wyoming DEQ partnered with researchers at the University of Wyoming to Compile information on thermal tolerances and distributions of fish.
Lindsay Patterson, Program Supervisor (Cheyenne)
Surface Water Quality Standards
307-777-7079