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<br />. <br /> <br />n !}~, ~fi <,~ <br /> <br />Obl)-;rlQ <br /> <br />Finally, the practical availability of water in any basin may be <br /> <br />limited by recurring droughts, because low priority conditional decrees, <br /> <br />which receive little or no water during times of low flow, may not be <br /> <br />developed. This is particularly true if a water user would require a <br /> <br />highly reliable, uninterruptible water supply. <br />In short, Colorado water supplies are limited and their avail- <br /> <br />ability is subject to substantial risk and uncertainty. At the same <br /> <br />time, the demand for both consumptive and non-consumptive water uses <br /> <br />has grown to the point where it may now, or in the near future, exceed <br /> <br />supply. Put another way, Colorado faces the classic problem of allocation <br /> <br />of a scarce resource among completing uses, with the potential for con- <br /> <br />flict between those uses becoming increasingly acute. <br /> <br />Of course, Colorado already has a mechanism for allocating water to, <br /> <br />or transferring it from, various uses. This mechanism, in the form of a <br /> <br />judicially based water rights system,is described below. <br />The Present Water Rights System <br /> <br />The doctrine of prior appropriation is the cornerstone of Colorado <br /> <br />water law and has been the basis for the allocation and use of water <br /> <br />since before statehood. Although several aspects of Colorado's water <br /> <br />rights system have changed substantially since 1876, the essential <br /> <br />elements have not been altered. The salient feature of this system is <br /> <br />that decisions with respect to the use of water and the geographical <br /> <br />location of use are made by the water users themselves, with the "first <br /> <br />in time" being the "first in right". Thus, within the limits of the <br />definition of "beneficial use", appropriators of water are free to <br /> <br />apply water to such uses and at such locations and times as they alone <br /> <br />b <br />