7776

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7776
• Author: Paddock, W. A. and W. C. Weiss.
• Title: A Primer on Colorado Water Law.
• USFW Year: 1986.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

By copy of this letter, I am requesting
each of my department heads to consider re-
questing your help prior to the institution
of any proceedings involving water rights,
with the understanding that they must-reim-
burse you for any expenses you incur.
Sincerely,
/S/Richard D. Lamm
Governor
cc: All Department Heads.
According to the terms of the foregoing letter, if any state
agency is involved in any proceeding involving water rights, it
must do so in a manner consistent with the state engineer's re-
sponsibilities. It is, therefore, best for each agency to con-
sult with the state engineer prior to getting involved in a water
rights transaction. This is also necessary to avoid conflicts of
interest in the attorney general's office arising from one agency
taking a position in a water rights proceeding that conflicts
with the position of the state engineer.
C. Assisting agencies in managing water rights
1. Identifying water rights
Frequently agencies have not given enough at
ter rights. As a consequence, many agencies
what water rights they own. Thus, the first
help an agency manage its water rights is to
rights they own and establish a portfolio of
are two basic sources for this information.
agency itself. The second is the records of
tention to their wa-
do not even know
task in beginning to
identify water
those rights. There
The first is the
the state engineer.
An agency can determine many of the water rights it owns from its
own records and from a physical inspection of its facilities.
The agency records are probably incomplete, so field investiga-
tion will be necessary. This entails a review by the agency of
all water stored or used at all of its facilities. A list should
be prepared containing all sources of water other than a public
water supply system used or stored at all facilities. The source
of the water should be determined and the nature of the agency's
right to use or store such water ascertained. Through this pro-
cess most agency water rights should be discovered.
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