Board Meeting 10/01/1987

• Board Meeting Date: 10/1/1987
• Description: CWCB Meeting
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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water resource development un those non-Pc,lcral lends sltuaLeJ in u position 1.0
have an effect on wilderness water resources.

a. Analysis of Existin~ Water Ri~hts

The information contained in tr.e S r~::ite Engin~er I s tabulation shows
that all of the decreed absolute water rights in or upstream of the
Colorado wilderness areas are senior in priority to designation dates
of the various wilderness areas, except for five rights discussed
below. Also, the records indicate that all of the dates of appropria-
tion for the conditional water rights are senior to the designation
dates of the various wilderness areas. The data related to the abso-
lute and decreed conditional rights within or upstream from each
wilderness are set out in Appendix III. This information consists of,
among other items, the location and name of the water resource devel-
opment, the amount of water, dates of uppropriation and adjudication,
date of wilderness designation, relation of water development location
to wilderness, and whether location is in Federal or non-Federal
ownership.

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Absolute Rights. .~s pre'~iously stated, all of the decreed absolute
water rights, except for five small rights, were appropriated, put to
beneficial use a.'1d decreed as absolute rights prior to, the designation
of the related wilderness a~eas. Of the five exceptions. three appro-
priations had been initiated prior to wilderness designation, and
another is related to a diversion that has been in place since 1918.
All five were adjudicated ap absolute rights after the dates of
wilderness designation. .

Two of the five exceptions, Lost Trail Springs 1 and 2, are above the
We~inuche Wilderness, which was designated in 1975. Both of these
were appropriated beginning in 1938 and were adjudicated as absolute
rights in 1985. Lost Spring 2 is on private land'; Lost Spring 1 is on
NFS land a.'1d received a special use permit from the Forest Service in
1955. One right is for 0.03 cfs of water for domestic use; the other
is for 0,03 cfs for stockwaeer, Two other rights are located on non-
cederal land within the Flae Top Wilderness, which was established in
1975. These rights, Dawson Spring 1 and Chambers Spring 1, are also
for domestic uses and are e~titled to 0,02 efs and 0,04 cfs of water,
respectively. Dawson Spring 1 was app~opriated in 1972; Chambers
Sprint; 1 in 1983. Both were adj'.ldicat,'d &S absolute rights in 1984.
The last of the exceptions is the Thompson Enlargement of Sawmill
Ditch on the Eagles Nest Wilderness, which was designated in 1976.
The diversion for Sawmill Ditch is on wilderness lands, but was
initiateu in 1918. well hefore establishn;ent of the wilderness. In
1937, tl<O absolute rights for a total of ti cfs of water were adjudi-
cated for Sawmill Ditch. The Thompson Enlargement was initiated in
1979 and adjudicated as absolute in 1985, resulting in a right to draw

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