Colorado State Water Plan 1974 ‎(Phase II)‎

• Year: 1974
• Title: Colorado State Water Plan
• CWCB Section: Agency-wide
• Publications - Doc Type: Historical

State Water Laws, Policies, and Administration
Appropriators are entitled to be supplied in the order of their priorities.
The most senior appropriator is entitled to be supplied without interference to the
full extent of his original appropriation, whether his right is for direct use or for
storage for future use, even when there is insufficient water in the source of
common supply to meet the demands of all other junior appropriators. The uses
of junior appropriators, whether they divert from the main stream, a tributary
stream, or from a ground-water source, may be curtailed, if necessary, at a
senior appropriator's request, by the responsible State water officials to satisfy
the senior appropriator's lawful demand for water, subject to the so-called "futile
call" rule that "no reduction of any lawful diversion because of the operation of the
priority system shall be permitted unless such reduction would increase the
amount of water available to and required by water rights having senior priorities. "
Junior appropriators have a right to have stream conditions continued as
they existed at the time of their appropriations. Thus, no appropriator may change
his manner of diversion and use of water in any way that would alter stream
conditions to the injury of appropriators who are junior to him and who are entitled
to rely on the continuance of such conditions.
In Colorado, water rights may be sold or transferred freely, subject to
certain rules and principles. A change in ownership by sale of a water right,
whether or not the right is appurtenant to land, creates no serious problems
peculiar to water rights law and is merely the subject of sales, conveyancing,
and recording laws. Many changes in ownership, however, are also the occasions
of a "change of water right, " which is broadly defined to include changes in the
type, place or time of use, and changes in point of diversion or storage.
A change of water right may be accomplished only with approval of the
water judge. An application must be filed with the water clerk. The application
must set forth a description of the water right for which a change is sought, its
amount and priority, and a description of the proposed change. The proposed
change must be approved if it will not injuriously affect other vested rights. If
the proposed change would injure other rights, it may be approved subject to
terms and conditions proposed either by the applicant or by any person opposed
to the application. The terms and conditions may include limitations on use of
the water subject to the change, relinquishment of part of the decree for which
change is sought or of other decrees used by the applicant, time limitations on
diversion of water, and such other conditions as are necessary to protect vested
rights. Approval may be conditioned on subsequent reconsideration by the water
judge on the question of injury to vested rights, or on any other provision which
the water judge deems proper in determining the rights and interests of persons
involved.
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