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<br />000751 <br /> <br />streams and underlying ground water, Also, little use was made of ground water resources prior to 1940, As <br />the hydrology of stream systems became better understood, the legal framework for ground water regulation <br />evolved, In Colorado, legislation passed during recent years has resulted in a highly structured system of <br />managing these waters, Where ground water use is determined to have an impact on surface stream flows <br />that are appropriated, the ground water and the associated surface stream flows are administered jointly as <br />one stream system under the principles of the prior appropriation doctrine, <br />Water rights can be absolute or conditional. Absolute rights have been perfected by placing all or a <br />portion of the decreed amount of water to beneficial use, have undergone the scrutiny of the water court, and <br />have been given a priority date based on the date of the initiation of the appropriation process, A conditional <br />right is a water right for which the applicant has asked the water court to reserve a quantity and priority date <br />based on the applicant's demonstrated intent to appropriate the water for a specified beneficial use, but the <br />right has not yet been perfected f?ecause no beneficial use has been made of the water, Continued diligence <br />toward the perfection of a conditional right is essential, because without this continued diligence, the <br />conditional right will be declared abandoned by the water court, <br />Water rights are quantified based on the rate of diversion (cubic feet per second) or volume stored (acre- <br />feet), However, the amount of water yielded from a water right is affected by the availability of water in any <br />given year, If water supply is limiting, the water right holders that are junior or of a lower priority may not <br />receive their entire allocation of water, The value of a water right, therefore, depends on its priority, <br /> <br />Changing Water Rights <br />The prior appropriation system in Colorado allows water rights to be transferred or changed, subject to <br />certain procedures and restrictions imposed by the water courts and the State Engineer's office, Water right <br />transfers or changes can be temporary or permanent, and can involve changes in use, timing, amount, and <br />location of either diversion or use, Proposed changes in water use that deviate from the original water right <br />decree require water court approval prior to implementation Changes in water use that do not violate the <br />original terms and conditions of the water right decree can usually be implemented without court review, but <br />may be subject to review by the State Engineer, <br />The permanent transfer of water rights between different users and uses is permitted subject to the <br />protection of other water right holders, Water right changes cannot have a detrimental impact on other vested <br />or decreed water rights, When a change in use is proposed, other water users are protected from injwy by <br />terms and conditions that are imposed by the water court and contained in the decree for the water right <br />change, These terms and conditions are necessary to maintain stream conditions that were present at the time <br /> <br />8 <br />