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<br /> <br />" <br />. <br />l <br />f <br />, <br />~ <br /> <br />~.. -f: <br />-.- <br />--- ~. <br />.--- - --, . <br />.. --"-,',\. <br />. . ..";~~"~'~'f< ,', ~ <br />:..... - ';~~~'~ 'It <br />.- ___~__,.... - . ... .!If..L _--.;.~. "" -... "l .. <br />.,.,::.~ ...;.......o:-.,':-.~ ' <br />:' Ill., <br /> <br />.. <br />. <br />t <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />> <br />. <br /> <br />, <br />1 <br /> <br />'" <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />CELEBRATING THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY <br />OF THE WATER COMMISSIONER <br /> <br />B.\' Dan ,\lo1u\rthur <br /> <br />r:ti'yt 1).5" "r.~l tJt"d'-,;'t CE"""'.dM.d":_~~~/w 1..r-4~L ../:t~ ~ -.t1'--r ..e..r_.L..: ti<-{ ('6-(9.-u-/'ti>- ...: <br />V . <br />.1 -,< , - f fin ,< - _d <br />/t~Jt~L",W ;;(.V.......v~,..J (..,A""..v...dM.L,u_"t...-(.1' J.-r.6<'<-J("..;{.i'''''': :u;. -""<('-...< -I' ;;CAr -t.t"._~...:C~t.rL A....-c_. <br /> <br /> <br />\Valer comnnSSJonas are men and women In local com- <br />muniues all o\'er Colorado who work for tnt' Oi\'ISIOn of Water <br />Resourc('s. opening and c1~lng lmgallon dIWr5ll1n5. monllor- <br />iog streamflows. and allocanng the staleS precious nver and <br />cl't'ek noVo's acwrding to water ri!!,ht prionues, semor 10 Junior <br />In recent years, theIr work has grown much more sophis- <br />ticated. with S<lldhte-s replaCIng s.lddk horses ,15 Ihe means of <br />.leeess for mOnlwnng stream and ri\'er flows. But une thmg <br />has remained the same_ts a paSSion and not J\151 J profession <br />for the 14t.1 waler commi~loners assigned to 78 water dis(n(ls <br />across Colorado <br />It staTted back in 1861. the year the Tcmton.11 Leglslatut'(' <br />made liS first water law d~cislon, c{mdudmlot ltut W<1ter could <br />leg.llly be dwened from stTe".1ms, and ditches built LO convey <br />"'':ater across publH.: and privatc lands" But In an Jnd land .....here <br />unsuccessfullmgation could mean the end of a homestead, the <br />legislature 500n reah.:ed It ne~ded some method to dispense <br />a little order among the first water users whcnevcr supplies <br />became scarce and dISputes erupted <br />The Temtonal Legislatures hrst solutton was tel authoTl:e tht' <br />nearest Justice of the pea.:e 10 appoint thn-c resldl'nts in evcry <br /> <br />EarlywOlet"C~rncnttlffldthe~!O('.-.o(f'(fJroJ <br />em ~ (his Srerirlg ~ heo::\'Ofe (~J ood *""" (O(I(lI <br />(below). ....tldl....usburlr Wlth(ams o(o.rffi <br /> <br />, <br />I <br />~ <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />major nver dramage as ~commissioners. TheSt' unpaid, of ten- <br />temporar)' commiSSIoners were charged with rt'solv111g all .....ater <br />disputcs .IS thcy aro!'-C, <br />-HO\\'c\"cr, the- earliest pione-er im~ators had limlled nct.'d for <br />a law of thiS kmd dunng most ye-ars: $a}'s Dick Stenzel, a retired <br />state water res.:mrce en~meer and avid his-tonan" ~Thl"ir dllchcs <br />were small and the water 111 the Tl\'crs abundant <br />Throughout the 18605, Colorado used thiS mllial method <br />to develop somethmg conSidered enllrely unnect'ssary in Lht" <br />wa!er.rich cas!, a 5}"Slem of \\";tter allocallon, Today knlw.n as the <br />Colorado Doctnne. 11 outlined the relallonships between water <br />use and land l'\\'T\ershlp. and pioneered the ~first in time, fi\'!.t m <br />nght- priam}' system, <br />Yet by the limc Colorados second ~eneral a..ssembly convened <br />tn 1879. the d:\ys of abundant unclaimed water were OWl' Most <br />01 the stales rivers and creeks already had a great man)' Imgatllln <br />dllches with the ability to dwert m~lre water than nowed m the <br />Sl.ream dunng m~'lSt years, Waler dl.5pule5 were on the me. So <br />Ihe qUe5t!C.n before Lhe legislature becam... not what waler allo- <br />catton method to use, but ho\\ to apply 11_ The solutwn: In 1879 <br />Colorado.) became the first slate in the natilln lO appomt public <br /> <br />~-- <br />- <br />