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<br /> <br />between the state engineer", the executive director of the Division of Water <br />Resources of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and the judiciary. <br />Specifically, a district court judge is designated a water judge in each of the seven <br />water divisions of the state, as established by the 1969 act (pg. 13), The state <br />engineer has exclusive jurisdiction to administer, distribute, and regulate the waters <br />of the state, The water judges have exclusive jurisdiction to preside over water <br />matters in the district courts, referred to as Water Court", within their specific water <br />divisions, <br />.Water matters. are those matters specified by statute to be heard by the water <br />judges, They include determinations of amounts and priorities" on applications for <br />water rights and determinations of rights with respect to proposed changes of rights, <br />plans for augmentation'(pg, 22), and Quadrennial (every four years) findings of <br />diligence in the perfection of conditional" rights, Neither the water judges nor the <br />state engineer grant or create water rights. Water rights are self-initiated and are <br />confirmed by judicial decree", It is the responsibility of the state engineer and <br />division engineers to administer and distribute water in accordance with court <br />adjudicated decrees. <br />Water matters, in addition to adjudication" of claims, include all matters <br />involving beneficial application of water or priorities of appropriation, enforcement <br />of orders of the state engineer or division engineers, and validity of rules and <br />regulations of the state engineer. The water judge usually appoints water referees <br />who handle day-to-day matters and rule on water rights. Any dispute of the referees <br />ruling is retried de novo by the water judge, that is, without regard to testimony <br />presented to the referee, The judge's decision may be appealed directly to the <br />Colorado Supreme Court. <br />2, Administration of Water Rights <br />The state engineer is charged with administering and distributing the waters <br />of the state, As chief of the Division of Water Resources, he is responsible to the <br />executive director of the Department of Natural Resources. He has general <br /> <br />8 <br />