What We Advocate

The Casper Aquifer Protection Area is only 1.6% of the area of Albany County, yet it serves 86% of the county population. ACCWA believes that special land-use regulations in this special area are fully appropriate.

The Wyoming Constitution establishes state ownership of all waters in the state. ACCWA believes that as long as folks can exercise their property rights without compromising the public water supply, they are free and welcome to do so.

We recognize the great value of the present, generally high quality of the Casper Aquifer, and seek to maintain that quality through appropriate preventive management strategies. Our goal for community water-quality should be “as good as practically possible”.

View of the city of Laramie from the Casper Aquifer

ACCWA does not seek to reverse existing development on the aquifer. The ACCWA position is to guide future community development to the ample areas available outside the aquifer protection area through appropriate zoning and future infrastructure construction. Within the protection area, there should be an emphasis on best management practices for existing development. Future residential development should be constrained to low densities and commercial use should be carefully reviewed for potential impacts.

Since 2001 both the city and county have adopted Casper Aquifer Protection Plans (CAPPs), which guide some of the strongest aquifer protection policies in the state. Our community should be proud of those proactive efforts to safeguard our water supply.

ACCWA supports a unified City/County approach to aquifer protection, recognizing that groundwater flow knows no boundaries.

ACCWA strongly supports science-based decision making and encourages efforts to learn more about our community water supplies.