Resources
• Click here to view QQ’s Member Handbook, a resource that provides more information about QQ, water quality and quantity law and regulation, local land use regulation as it intersects with water management, and the greater Colorado River Basin.
• Headwaters Counties: A Water Economy (2026).
• Executive Summary of Headwaters Counties: A Water Economy (2026).
• Bridging the Gap (2024).
“Bridging the Gap” examines the experiences of key stakeholders involved in constructing, permitting, or negotiating large water projects to apply past lessons – including need identification, stakeholder communication, and project design and implementation – to future efforts in meeting Colorado’s water demands. The Quality/Quantity Committee (QQ) co-led the project with the Sonoran Institute. The final report is a tool for navigating the challenges that arise in large-scale water planning and development by “bridging the gap” in understanding between water suppliers and impacted communities.
• Climate Change in the Headwaters (2018).
• Water & Its Relationship to the Headwaters Economies (2012).
- Water Savings Resource Guide and Model Provisions for the Colorado Headwaters (2020).
- Integrating Water Efficiency into Land Use Planning in the Interior West: A Guidebook for Local Planners (2018).
- Growing Water Smart Colorado Guidebook (2024).
- Local Compliance with Colorado Senate Bill 24-005 (2025).
- Water Conservation Throughout Your Home and Garden. This resource was shared by a Summit County elementary school — thank you!
- Colorado Water Law Basics:
- Colorado Water Trust presentation link.
- Water Education Colorado Citizen’s Guides available for purchase, including one on Water Law Basics.
- EPA 5 year Review Report for French Gulch 2015
- Rain Gardens and Rain Collection. Rain gardens can slow down the flow of water into our waterways to reduce pollution transport and can be a substitute for turf or other water-intensive landscaping—and are beautiful! In 2016, Colorado law changed to allows Coloradans to collect rain water via rain barrels. Below is more guidance on rain gardens and rain collection:
o Utilizing Rainwater and Gravity: A Guide to Rain Gardens
o Building a Rain Garden in Colorado
o Guide to Rain Water Collection in Colorado