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<br />prov~s~on, CBT units can be utilized only to make a first use; <br />return flow from first use of the imported CBT water is dedicated <br />to the stream for use by downstream users under their native <br />water rights priorities, Town of Estes Park v. Northern Colorado <br />Water Conservancy District, 677 P.2d 320, 326 (Colo. 1984). A <br />huge amount of return flow becomes available thereby to the lower <br />river water users, to whom direct delivery of CBT units is not <br />made because of distance, and this was the rationale for <br />including the Fort Morgan to Julesburg reach of the South Platte <br />River into the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District for <br />mill levy purposes. But the downstream users, because they do <br />not have an appropriative right to a certain pattern or amount of <br />return flow from the CBT imported waters, cannot object to a <br />transfer or change in the place of use or type of use of CBT <br />units upstream. <br /> <br /> <br />The first use of the CBT imported water moves freely <br />between persons and uses within the District's boundaries. <br />Direct use of CBT units, or indirect use to enable outside <br />deliveries, is prohibited outside of the boundaries of the <br />District or subdistrict by rules and regulations of the Northern <br />Board under the Water Conservancy Act. CBT allotment contract <br />rights are much sought after in Northern Colorado because of the <br />relative ease in transferring the CBT first use rights to other <br />uses. <br /> <br />SALES OF CBT UNITS ARE PRIVATE TRANSACTIONS, <br />SUBJECT TO MINIMAL TRANSFER RULES <br /> <br />When the Colorado Big Thompson Project was nearing <br />completion in the mid-1950's, the Board of Directors of the <br />Northern District realized that some water users had <br />oversubscribed or undersubscribed for CBT allotments and that <br />other water users who had not subscribed, particularly <br />municipalities, were interested in augmenting their base water <br />supplies. The Directors also recognized that use patterns and <br /> <br />-17- <br />