The topic of water quality in our streams here in Wyoming sure has received a lot of attention lately – and for good reason.  Water is the lifeblood of Wyoming and the west.

There area number of water quality considerations.  For example, water quality in streams can be reduced by too much soil, salt, bacteria, chemicals or heat.  In other words, water that is too muddy, too warm, too salty or that contains too much bacteria from the digestive tract of warm blooded mammals.  To much of any of these can impair water quality and the degradation can lead to many different problems.

There are several reasons for setting water quality standards.  Perhaps the most important is public health, but there are other good reasons for setting standards.  And there is no doubt that high quality water is desireable.

For Example, aquatic invertebrates, that is, little insects that live in water are excellent indicators of water quality. Whether it is warm or cold, salty, muddy, but most of our standards rely on physical measurements or chemical tests to determine water quality.

Policy makers and natural resource specialists are currently working on refining water quality standards to encompass what we know and are learning about water quality to meet the needs of Wyoming today.

From the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service, I’m Eric Peterson.