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Glossary Absolute Water Rie:ht. A water right is absolute when there has been diversion and application of the water to beneficial use. When this has been accomplished., the owner has an absolute water right which entitles him to use in priority, a certain portion of the water of the natural stream. Even though he has an absolute right, he should fIle in the water court and obtain a decree for the same, thereby protecting his date of priority. J Acre-Feet. The basic measurement of standing water, an acre-foot of water is an amount a foot high on an acre or roughly 10 inches standing on a football field or 325,851 gallons. An acre- foot is the amount of water used by one average urban family of four in I year. Adiudicate. To adjudicate a water right is to confmn the existence of the acts of appropriation. It is to judicially establish, by decree, the date of an appropriation of a certain quantity of water and the beneficial use to which the water was applied. The adjudication of water rights under Colorado's appropriation system is a judicial procedure handled through water courts in seven water division in the state. Under Colorado's constitution the right to divert water from rivers and streams shall never be. denied. Aoorooriation. The establishment of a water right by diversion, due diligence and beneficial use is an appropriation. A water right must be adjudicated to establish seniority of the right. Thus, adjudication is the judicial decree dating a water right. Bioloe:ical Ooinion. An official report prepared by the Fish and Wildlife Service documenting the effects of a Federal project or decision on endangered species. r CaD on the River. The act of curtailing the diversion of water by junior water rights to protect and allow diversion and use by senior (older) rights. Conditional Rie:ht. A conditional water right, as defmed by statute, means "a right to perfect a water right with a certain priority upon the completion with reasonable diligence of the appropriation upon which such water right is to be based." Conditional water rights are usually j. applied for when a large scale project, requiring years of planning and construction, is proposed. I The value of a conditional water right is that if the appropriation is completed within a reasonable time, the priority date relates back to the date of initiation of appropriation. A conditional right becomes absolute when the water is diverted and actually applied to beneficial use. ConsuIDotive Use. The beneficial use of water generally results in the consumption of some I of that water. The part not consumed generally returns to the stream as return flow. Returnj flows from irrigation permit the water to be used many times over as it flows downstream giving I rise to the saying that one person's flow fulfills another's water right. I ) ,