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<br />36 <br /> <br />IV. CURRENT WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE BASIN <br /> <br />4.1 Introduction <br />The physical works and management policies for water in the South <br />Platte Basin have developed over the period since 1858 when the first <br />water right was established on Clear Creek. The legal, doctrine of <br />appropriation. as already noted. is the cornerstone of present manage- <br />ment policies. ,Management of water under a right is largely the unre- <br />stricted perogative of the owner. A water right is like a property <br />right in most respects. As a general principle, the owner of a water <br />right is free to change the place or type of, use provided the change <br />does not injuriously affect the owner of another vested water right <br />inCluding a decreed conditional water right. Changes may include sale <br />or rental of the right. <br />With time ,and pressures of competing water demands. innovative <br />cooperation between owners of water rights has led to rather complex <br />management strategies. The exchange of water between junior water right <br />owners upstream and seniors downstream to minimize in-stream conveyance <br />losses was one of the first of these. \,.ater multi-party exchanges have <br />extended the areal scope and introduced higher management complexity. <br />Legislative changes have allowed increasing water management <br />flexibil ity. Change in the point of diversion of surface waters and <br />change in the character of its use are permitted. Transfers of water <br />from agriculture to urban uses have become increasingly frequent. Con- <br />version of direct flow rights to storage rights occur qui te freely. <br />Purchase of agricultural rights by municipalities in excess of immediate <br /> <br />I <br />