Northwest Colorado Council of Governments (NWCCOG) is a voluntary association of county and municipal governments in Region 12 established by Executive Order that benefits from working together on a regional basis. NWCCOG Water Quality/Quantity Committee (QQ) is the water policy arm of NWCCOG with a separate board, membership, and dues structure.
QQ facilitates and augments member jurisdictions’ efforts to protect and enhance the region’s water resources while encouraging its responsible use for the good of Colorado citizens and the environment. QQ is the only group of local governments in the state dedicated to water quality and quantity protection of Colorado’s headwaters.
Cornerstone Resources
- QQ updated its Model Code for Water Protection Standards in 2019, and in 2020 released its Water Savings Resource Guide and Model Provisions for the Colorado Headwaters. QQ members continue to lead the state in integrating water management and watershed protection into future development regulations.
NWCCOG, along with West Slope Partners like Grand County and the Colorado River Water Conservation District, negotiated the first clarity standard adopted by WQCC in Colorado and provided legal and technical support in on-going processes to protect Grand Lake clarity from impacts of the Colorado/Big Thompson Project.
Since the 1980s, when the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) first approved the 208 Regional Water Quality Plan for the NWCCOG Region, NWCCOG often working through QQ has managed regional water quality planning. The NWCCOG 208 Plan includes the only regional policy requiring water development to mitigate its water quality impacts. The 208 Plan has been integrated into land use codes linking quantity and quality, continuing to the present.
- QQ commissioned a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative description of the importance of water to the QQ region. For more information, check out the report here.
Torie has more than a decade of experience assisting counties, municipalities, and special districts in translating local goals and data into practical, customized local regulations and policies. Her expertise includes water quality and drinking water protection, administrative environmental regulation, oil and gas regulation, and water-related hazard mitigation planning. Torie started her work with NWCCOG/ QQ...
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As a fifth generation Coloradoan with roots from the Williams Fork to the Big Sandy Creek, Claire cares deeply about conserving and preserving the land and water of this state. Claire began working with QQ in 2022 and brings a decade of public policy, communication, and operations experience. Her expertise includes policy analysis and advocacy,...
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