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Air & Water
| Having clean pure air is important to the residents of the Delta County. Of 250 Delta County residents surveyed by phone, 97 said that they highly value living in a community with a clean environment, free of air pollution. The Delta County Environmental Health Division operates air pollution sampling devices. A PM-10 Sampler is located atop the Health Services Building in Delta. Particulate matter (PM) is the term used for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. The PM-10 standard includes particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less (approximately 1/7 the width of a human hair). Currently, Delta County is in compliance with all State and Federal standards for air quality. Studies and reports from the monitoring program may be found on the Colorado Air Pollution Control Web site. The Colorado Smoke Outlook details Wildfire Smoke Health Advisories throughout the state of Colorado. During the active wildfire season, it is important for citizens and communities to be aware of potential smoke issues in their area. Select the link below to get up-to-date information: Colorado Smoke OutlookFor more information regarding air monitoring data, read the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission Report to the Public. For more information, see our open burning web page. Other Links
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The State of Colorado and Delta County have restrictions on burning unwanted waste materials.
All persons conducting open burning, other than agricultural burning (as defined by the State of Colorado Air Pollution Control Division Regulation #9), are required to obtain an open burning permit from the Air Pollution Control Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Information regarding State open burning permits may be found at the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division website.
An application for a permit may be submitted by e-mail to: cdphe.openburning@state.co.us, or you can print out the application and submit it by fax to the Air Pollution Control Division at (303) 782-0278. For more information, call (970) 874-2165.
If you are planning to conduct any open burning, you must first contact the Delta County Dispatch (399-2955) on the day you plan to conduct the burn. (Details…)
The burning of household trash and other dense smoke-producing materials is prohibited in Delta County. The Delta County Environmental Health Division enforces the Delta County Open Burning Regulations.
- Open Burning Algorithm, a guide to know what, when, and where you can burn
- Agricultural and Open Burning brochure (1315KB pdf)
- Open Burning Permit Application, for submission to Delta County Environmental Health
- State of Colorado Air Pollution Control Division Regulation Open Burning
- Colorado Open Burning Fact SheetDelta County Open Burning Regulation
Water is an extremely valuable natural resource of Delta County. Delta County Environmental Health program partners with private and local, state, and federal entities to maintain and improve water quantity and quality in the County. The Delta Board of County Commissioners is dedicated to preserving the quality and quantity of the water resources of Delta County and has therefore entered into a long-term research project to study the hydrology and science of water in the County.
Water Planning
A Delta County groundwater planning area map was created to classify groundwater resources.
GIS-Based Hydrological and Environmental Systems Analysis (HESA) studies
Phase l - Oak Mesa Report, Oak Mesa Presentation
Phase 2 - North Fork Report, North Fork-Gunnison River Presentation, North Fork-Terraces Presentation
Phase 3 – Surface Creek
Phase 4 – Uncompahgre River Valley
Colorado Water Data Sharing Network
Rogers Mesa Groundwater Report
Colorado Water Quality Control
The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission is the administrative agency responsible for developing specific state water quality policies of the State of Colorado Water Quality Control Act. The Water Quality Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment regulates and implements the standards for surface and ground waters of the state set forth by the Commission and State Legislature.
Colorado Division of Water Resources
The Colorado Division of Water Resources (Office of the State Engineer) is an agency within the Department of Natural Resources providing administration of Colorado's water resources to meet the demands of today, and to provide for the needs of tomorrow. The agency works on basin of origin issues, issues involving federally-reserved water rights, wetlands, and endangered species recovery, as well as interstate water issues.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources Division
The USGS has been studying our nation's water resources for the last century. Their webpage can give you historical, periodic, and real-time information on many of the streams and rivers in the United States. They also have many water-related studies and reports available for viewing.
Selenium Management
Multiple efforts to address elevated selenium concentrations in the Lower Gunnison and Colorado Rivers with Colorado are ongoing.
The most active effort is related to the Selenium Management Program (SMP) facilitated by the US Bureau of Reclamation. More information can be found on the Gunnison River Basin website.
Public Drinking Water
Safe clean drinking water is one of the foundation stones for a healthy community. Large community and small non-community systems serving such places as towns, drinking water systems, pipelines, summer camps, restaurants, campgrounds, and motels in Delta County are inspected and regulated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Water Quality Control Division Drinking Water Program.
For more information, visit the US Environmental Protection Agency Colorado Drinking Water information site.
Private Drinking Water
Private drinking water sources are supplied from groundwater wells or springs. The quality and safety of the water supplied from these sources varies greatly depending on geology, aquifer depth, well construction, spring collection, and other factors. The West Central Public Health Partnership has gathered groundwater quality data from private drinking water samples collected in the Region 10 Counties through a Safe Watch grant from the Centers of Disease Control. Maps of water quality from groundwater wells and spring water compared to drinking water standards in Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel Counties can be found here:
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Ensure Safe Drinking Water
Private well water quality is not regulated, so providing safe drinking water from a private well is the responsibility of the well owner. Two helpful publications are:
• Is Your Well Well? brochure
• “Protecting Your Private Well”, published by Colorado State University Extension.
• “Drinking Water from Household Wells”, from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
These publications address the following topics:
• Groundwater quality and potential contaminants
• Naturally occurring sources of pollution
• Installing a new well
• Well location and setbacks
• How to protect your ground water supply
• Well construction and maintenance
• Abandoned wells
• Water testing
• Interpreting your water test result
• FAQs about well water quality
Treatment Systems
It is possible to check your private drinking water to determine if it is safe for drinking. Bacteriologic testing sample containers are available at the Delta County Environmental Health Division offices to sample your water for bacteriological contamination. Samples will be sent to the Grand Junction Regional Laboratory for testing.
Western Slope Laboratories Certified to Test Drinking Water
Enviro-Chem Analytical
685 West Gunnison Avenue
Suite 108
Grand Junction, CO
970-242-6154
City of Gunnison Wastewater Treatment Plant
524 County Road 32
Gunnison, CO
970-641-8042
Mesa County Health Department Regional Laboratory
510 29.5 Road
Grand Junction, CO
970-248-6999