Environmental and Stormwater Management

Stormwater quality is very important! The County’s stormwater program helps to keep our waterways clean and healthy. The County ensures that pollutants do not leave construction sites, prohibits illicit discharges and educates the public and local businesses on what they can do to help. 

Please contact the Environmental Manager at 720-874-6525 for more information and to review the County’s stormwater quality program description document (also known as the County's municipal separate storm sewer system permit or MS4).

Utilize our Household Hazardous Waste Pickup Program. 

What is Stormwater Pollution?

Some rainwater and snow melt soaks into the ground, but the rest of it flows over streets, parking lots and other impervious surfaces before hitting the storm drain system, where it ultimately flows, untreated, directly int streams and lakes. Therefore, sometimes that water gets polluted. Polluted runoff is the number one cause of water pollution in the United States.

Pollution is anything that harms our environment. Sometimes the pollution is obvious, like trash floating on top of the water or paint that was dumped. Other pollutants are not easy to detect, like motor oil from a car or excess lawn fertilizer. Almost all pollutants can harm our waterways. Some also can harm wildlife and people using waterways.

  1. REPORT
  2. PICK UP
  3. FOLLOW
  4. TOSS/COMPOST
  5. MAINTAIN
  6. CLEAN

Call 303-858-8844 (SEMSWA). 
If you see the following in a stream or lake:

  • An unusual color or smell
  • Suds when it is not raining
  • Dead or dying fish or other aquatic life
  • Items that have been dumped in the waterway
  • Anything else that does not look or small normal