Decree Case No. 98CW448 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CONCLUSIONS OF LAW Jurisdiction. Timely and adequate notice of the filing of this Application was given as required by law and this Court has jurisdiction over this Application and over all parties affected thereby, whether or not they have chosen to appear. Diversion Structures. Pursuant to C.R.S. § 37- 92- 103(7), a diversion of water may include "controlling water in its natural course or location by means of a ... structure or device." The dam structures and flow deflector control devices which constitute the City of Golden's White Water Course and which will constitute the Extension are such diversion structures or devices. See City of Thornton v. City of Fort Collins, 830 P.2d 915 (Colo. 1992). Golden's constitutional right to appropriate a new water right in accordance with Colorado law may not be denied or limited based upon the public trust doctrine, or similar policy restraints purportedly rooted in concern for the quantities that should be left for future water . users. " [A] public interest theory is in conflict with the doctrine of prior appropriation because a water court cannot, in the absence of statutmy authority, deny a legitimate appropriation based on public policy." Board of County Commissioners, 891 P.2d 952, 972 (Colo. 1995); Aspen Wilderness Workshop v. Colorado Water Conservation Board, 901 P.2d 1251, 1263 (Colo. 1995). I I Recreational use is a beneficial use of water in Colorado. RULING AND DECREE G. The foregoing Findings of Facts and Conclusions of law are fully incorporated into this Ruling and Decree by this reference. H. The absolute water rights for the structures constituting the City of Golden White Water Course are hereby decreed set forth set forth inTables 1 and 2, above. The conditional water rights for the White Water Course are hereby decreed as set forth in Tables 1 and 2, above. J. The conditional water rights for the for the proposed Extension are hereby decreed in amounts as set forth in Table 3, above, for the respective 12 -hour periods set forth in Tables 1 and 2. However, as above, perfection of nighttime rights must be established from uses that occur between one -hour after sundown and one hour before sunrise. K. An Application for Sextenniai Finding of Reasonable Diligence shall be filed on or before the last day of June 2007, if Golden desires to maintain its conditional water rights, - a showing made on or before said date that the conditional rights have been made absolute by completion of the appropriation.