Colorado Water Conservation Handbook

• Year: 2004
• Title: CWCB Board Member Handbook
• CWCB Section: Administration
• Author: CWCB
• Description: Handbook containing phone numbers, addresses, statutes, rules, policies, straegic plans and Board member work plans.
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

decision of the water quality control commission or to
any judicial decision related thereto:
(a) All state waters shall be presumed to be
available for beneficial uses under and in accordance
with the constitution and laws of the state; and a water
right includes the right to divert as defmed in section
37-92-103 (7), C.R.S., the waters of the state for
application to beneficial use.
(b) The commission or division shall not
require an instream flow for any purpose.
(c) Mixing zones in state waters shall be
allowed in accordance with other provisions of this
article in calculating the necessary degree of source
pollutant control, so long as water rights are not
materially injured.
(d) The commission and division shall consult
with the state engineer and the water conservation board
or their designees before making any decision or
adopting any rule or policy which has the potential to
cause material injury to water rights.
( e) Underground water maybe extracted from
state waters in order to treat or remove pollutants from
the water extracted; except that any material injury to
water rights resulting therefrom shall be remedied as
required by law.
(3) The state engineer shall issue well permits
pursuant to section 37-90-137 (2), C.R.S., necessary to
accomplish the purposes of paragraph (e) of subsection
(2) of this section. Well construction shall be in
accordance with article 91 oftitle 37, C.R.S.

Annotations: The water court is not required to
consider environmental factors to determine whether to
grant conditional water right decree. Matter of Board of
County Comm'rs, 891 P.2d 952 (Colo. 1995).
Water quality regulation that affects water
rights without causing material injury or impairment is
not necessarily prohibited. City of Thornton v. Bijou
Irrigation Co., 926 P.2d 1 (Colo. 1996).
The legislative water quality scheme is not
designed to protect against quality impacts unrelated to
discharges or substitute water and specifically prohibits
the water court from imposing the protective measures
necessary to remedy depletive impacts of upstream
appropriations on a downstream appropriator who is
concerned that decreased water quantity caused by city's
upstream appropriation will result in water quality
problem. City of Thornton v. Bijou Irrigation Co., 926
P.2d 1 (Colo. 1996).
The legislature prohibited the Colorado water
quality control commission and the water quality
division from imposing minimum instream flows in the
course of their water quality protection activities. City
of Thomton v. Bijou Irrigation Co., 926 P.2d 1 (Colo.
1996).
Under Colorado law, water quality standards
apply to discharges of pollution and not to withdrawals
or appropriations of water. Colorado Wild, Inc. v. U.S.
Forest Serv., 122 F. Supp.2d 1190 (D. Colo. 2000).

25-8-106. Study - organizational placement of water
quality control programs. (Repealed)

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