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<br /> <br />governed by the priorities for water rights established by judicial decrees entered in <br /> <br /> <br />court adjudication proceedings, <br /> <br /> <br />5, The ]969 Act <br /> <br /> <br />Before ]969, separate adjudication proceedings were conducted for each of <br /> <br /> <br />the state's many irrigation districts., Supplemental adjudications were held whenever <br /> <br /> <br />a water user desiring an adjudication of a new appropriation petitioned the <br /> <br /> <br />appropriate district court, After a petition was filed, the proceedings were open to <br /> <br /> <br />other users in the district to adjudicate or dispute claims for new rights that had <br /> <br /> <br />arisen since the completion of the previous adjudication in that district, <br /> <br /> <br />It is always important to determine whether a water right was obtained in <br /> <br /> <br />original or in supplemental adjudications., since water rights decreed in supplementa] <br /> <br /> <br />adjudications are junior to those decreed in previous adjudications regardless of the <br /> <br /> <br />date of first use, <br /> <br /> <br />In the enactment of the 1969 Water Right Determination and Administration <br /> <br /> <br />Act, the Colorado General Assembly changed the procedures for adjudicating water <br /> <br /> <br />rights, A water clerk and a water judge were appointed for each of the seven water <br /> <br /> <br />divisions, Water applications are now accepted on a continuous basis, Each calendar <br /> <br /> <br />year is regarded as a separate adjudication, comparable to previous supplemental <br /> <br /> <br />adjudications, Each right filed in one calendar year is senior to rights filed in <br /> <br /> <br />subsequent years, regardless of the actual date of first usage, <br /> <br /> <br />Water referees are appointed by the water judges to make any necessary <br /> <br /> <br />investigations and to issue rulings, Any person who wants a determination of a water <br /> <br /> <br />right, conditional water right., change of water right, plan of augmentation., or <br /> <br /> <br />quadrennial finding of reasonable diligence in perfecting a conditional water right, <br /> <br /> <br />may file an application, at any time, with the water clerk of the appropriate division, <br /> <br /> <br />Anyone who thinks he may be injured may file a statement of opposition, The <br /> <br /> <br />application is first submitted to the referee who, after publication and investigation, <br /> <br /> <br />may either rule on it or refer it back to the water judge. <br /> <br /> <br />When a referee's ruling is protested, or when the referee refers a matter back <br /> <br />13 <br />