WSP01461 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I COLORADO WATER LAW Surface Water Colorado operates under a system of surface water rights appropriation where the original authority for granting a water right lies with the judiciary--a special water court. Colorado follows a strict policy of appropriative rights. Riparian rights were recognized in the mid-nineteenth century, but subsequent laws phased out the riparian doctrine. The Colorado constitution in essence states that the unappropriated water of every natural stream is the property of the public, subject to appropriation. The constitution also guarantees the concept of "first in time, first in right". These constitutional expres- sions have been furthered by legislative enactments. The appropriative rights doctrine was confirmed by the courts in Coffin v. Left Hand Ditch Co. (6 Colo. 443, 1882) which also held that riparian rights were inapplicable in Colorado. There are four major elements in the Colorado Doctrine of Prior Appropriation: 1) water in its natural course is the property of the public and is not subject to private ownership; 2) a vested right to use the water may be acquired by appropriation for a beneficial use; 3) the first person in time to use the water is the first in right; and 4) benefi- cial use is the basis. the measure and the limit of the right. No distinction is made between ground and surface water. That policy was clearly defined in the Water Right Determination and Administration Act which states ". . . that all waters originating in or flowing into this state, whether found on the surface or underground, have always been and are hereby declared to be the property of the public, dedicated to the use of the people of this state, subject to appropriation and in accordance with the law. " 0062 52