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provision was intended to confirm that the riparian system, which was particularly ill- suited for <br />conditions in Colorado, did not apply in our state. Coffin v. Left Hand Ditch Co., 6 Colo. 443, <br />446 -47 (1882); Yunker v. Nichols, 1 Colo. 551 (1872); see also United States v. City & County of <br />Denver, 656 P.2d 1, 6 (Colo. 1982); Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Collard, 827 P.2d 546, 549 -50 <br />(Colo. 1992). Our semiarid climate and the markedly different conditions west of the 100th <br />Meridian required recognition of a new doctrine. United States v. City & County of Denver, 656 <br />P.2d at 6. Municipalities, agriculture, and industry throughout Colorado all depend on the <br />continued existence and availability of water from the rivers of this state. Id. at 7. <br />Almost from the beginning, the General Assembly has regulated the appropriation, <br />administration,. and adjudication of water to provide a water allocation and administration system <br />"that promotes multiple use of a finite resource for beneficial purposes," by fostering "optimum <br />use, efficient water management, and priority administration." Empire Lodge, 39 P.3d at 1146- <br />47 (citing Santa Fe Trail Ranches Prop. Owners Assn, 990 P.2d at 54). This Court has <br />recognized that the nature of a.. "diversion" required to appropriate waters of natural streams for <br />beneficial use and what constitutes a "beneficial use" are subject to regulation by the General <br />Assembly, as it has done in the 1969 Act by defining "appropriation," "beneficial use" and <br />"diversion." See, e.g., § 37- 92- 103(3), (4), (7), 10 C.R.S. (2003); Colo. River Water <br />Conservation Dist. v. Colo. Water Conservation Bd., 197 Colo. 469, 476, 594 P.2d 570, 574 -75 <br />(1979); City of Thornton v. Byou Irr. Co., 926 P.2d 1, 38 -39 (Colo.1996) (discussing General <br />Assembly's amendment of definition of "appropriation" to codify the anti - speculation doctrine <br />while carving out an exception for municipalities). And the General Assembly may delegate the <br />right to make appropriations for certain purposes to certain entities. Colo. River Water <br />Conservation Dist., 197 Colo. at 477 -80, 594 P.2d at 575 -77. <br />