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interrogatory by stating under oath that Fort Collins formed the intent to appropriate a water right <br />at the Nature Center Diversion Dam in April of 1988. See footnote 3, supra. <br />Contrary to Fort Collins' assertion, this Court has not "expressly authorized the validity <br />of this method of initiating water rights." Fort Collins Brief, p. 13. This Court has never ruled that <br />a water right can be initiated by a subjective interpretation of a document containing absolutely no <br />reference to water rights, followed by a general delegation of the authority to appropriate water <br />rights. The case cited by Fort Collins to support its assertion, City and County of Denver v Colorado <br />River Water Conservation District 696 P.2d 730 (Colo. 1985), involved facts significantly different <br />from the case at bar. In Denver the Colorado Supreme Court held that a resolution passed by <br />Denver's Board of Water Commissioners in 1956, which expressly delegated the authority to Denver's <br />staff to appropriate "all possible raw water out of the Colorado River, and its tributaries," was wholly <br />insufficient to evidence the formation of a fixed intent by the applicant to appropriate water from <br />Straight Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River. Id. at 747. The Supreme Court found this <br />language "simply too broad and lacking in specificity to support" the appropriation sought. Id. <br />The Supreme Court did find, however, that Denver had formed the requisite intent <br />to appropriate water from Straight Creek a year later, in 1957, when Denver filed a detailed map and <br />statement with the state engineer showing the alignment of the proposed Straight Creek Conduit, the <br />location of the point of diversion obtained from a detailed field survey, and the rate at which water <br />would be diverted from Straight Creek. Id. at 748. The Supreme Court held that it was not <br />necessary for Denver's Board to subsequently meet to decide to definitely proceed with the Straight <br />Creek project as "The board had properly delegated authority to make this specific determination to <br />the staff of the Denver Water Department as an administrative function" in the 1956 resolution. Id. <br />7 <br />