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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />Administration <br /> <br />Responsibility for water administration and control ln Colorado is <br />divided between the State Engineer, who is the executive offlce of <br />the Division of Water Resources of the State Department of Natural <br />Resources, and the judiciary; speclfically, one district court judge <br />designated a water judge for each of the seven Water Divisions of the <br />State established by law. The State Engineer has exclusive juris- <br />diction to administer, distribute, and regulate the waters of the <br />State. The water judges, on the other hand, have exclusive juris- <br />diction over "water matters" in the state district courts within <br />their respective divisions. "Water matters" are those matters which <br />are specified by statue to be heard by the water judges. They include <br />determinations of amounts and priorities on applications for new water <br />rights and conditional water rights, and determination of rights with <br />respect to proposed changes of water rights, plans for augmentation, <br />and required findings of diligence in the perfection of conditional <br />rights. <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />The seven water divisions in Colorado correspond roughly with the <br />major drainage basins of the State. A Division Engineer is appointed <br />by the State Engineer for each Division. The actual administration <br />and distribution of water is conducted through the offices of the <br />Division Engineer. Each Division is subdivided into field offices <br />headed by Water Commissioners who are members of the Division Engineer's <br />staff . <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />Diversions are regulated on the basis of priorities decreed by the <br />Courts, generally in the order in which the water was first appropriated <br />and put to beneficial use, A water right with an early appropriation <br />date takes precedence over rights with later dates. Court decrees also <br />specify the permitted magnitude of diversion in terms of rate of flow <br />for direct diversions and by volume for storage rights. A senior <br />appropriator, i,e. one with an early date, whose right is not satisfied <br />by the flow at his headgate may call for water that is being diverted by <br /> <br />IV-2 <br />