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1931 WATER ADMINISTRATION AND RESERVOIR OPERATIONS . In Colorado. water law is based on the doctrine of prior appropriation. The prior appropriation doctrine holds that the waters within a state are the property of the public, with a vested right to the use ofrhose waters. Specifically the doctrine states that, the first in time to use the water is first in right to receive that water in subsequent years. Prioritized direct-flow water rights for Arkansas River were established as long ago as 1859. As irrigated agriculture spread throughout the basin, the list of prioritized water rights grew rapidly and the Arkansas River and its tributaries were fully appropriated for normal or average years by the mid-I880.s. In most areas. Water rights with priorities dated later than 1887 are linle more than flood rights, which allow diversion of water only in periods of higher- than- average discharge. Flood rights do not provide a dependable supply of water as these flows typically occur at times inconvenient to farming operations or at rates in excess of canal capacities. Water-storage rights were developed and reservoirs were constructed lO take advantage of the flow not available lO direct diversions. which includes discharge in excess of direct-flow water rights (flood rights) and discharge during the non-irrigation season (winter water) from .ovember through March. During 1880 through 1910, storage rights were established that allowed for the yearly diversion and slOrage of almost 500,000 acre-ft of Arkansas River water in off-channel reservoirs. Additionally, two large, mainstem reservoirs were built in the lower Arkansas River valley to manage Arkansas River streamflow. In 1948, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed construction of John Martin Reservoir, a mainstem reservoir east of Las Animas (fig. I). In 1975, tbe U.S. Bureau of Reclamation completed construction of Pueblo Reservoir. a mainstem reservoir west of Pueblo (fig. I). Pueblo Reservoir ~~;l~~'NARYREPORY .. --_."J_".T TO R:,:\,f.:'" ~ Pueblo Reservoir is used for the storage and regulation of water that is imported into the Arkansas River Basin from the Colorado River Basin as part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project (hereafter referred to as the Project). The Project is a multipurpose water development constructed by the U.S. Bureau ofRee- .mation. The main purpose of the Project is to divert unappropriated water from the western slope of Co 1- 11