Water is not a given in Colorado especially for agriculture. It could take up to two years to acquire rights!
In Colorado, the process for obtaining a water right is complex, often times requiring a water lawyer and/or water resource engineer to assist you in the process. This brochure is provided to give you a general idea of the process. It is not intended to replace professional legal or engineering advice. In most cases it is recommended that you seek the assistance of an attorney.
In order to initiate an appropriation in Colorado, the user must first show an intent to divert water, place the water to beneficial use, and demonstrate the intent to divert in an open, physical manner. The physical act must be sufficient to put other parties on notice. Often times field surveys, posting at the diversion point, or filing for a well permit application can be considered sufficient physical notice of the intent to appropriate.
After this has been accomplished it is advisable to file a water right application with the court in the basin in which the diversion or proposed diversion exists to verify your place in line within the priority system. Water right application forms can be obtained from Bradford Publishing (located in Denver) or from any of the water courts.
The water courts are District Courts that hear matters related solely to water. The Colorado Supreme Court appoints the water judges for each of these courts. Upon filing your application with a court, it is then published in a monthly resume. Your application will also be noticed in local newspapers deemed proper for legal publication. Each court varies somewhat in the publication procedures and, in many instances, you will have to write your own legal notice and will be billed for any and all publication costs. You should contact the water court clerk prior to filing to obtain specific information as to pub-lication procedures (see Con-tact Information on the back of this guide). Once the application is filed and published in the newspa-pers and resume, parties who may have concerns regarding your application have two months to oppose the applica-tion and file a statement of opposition with the water court. For example, if your application is received by the water court any time between April 1 and April 30, the re-sume listing your application will be published during May and parties have until the last business day in June to oppose that application. For applications filed with the court in May, parties would have until the last business day in July to oppose your application, and so on. The Division Engineer of the water division in which the court application was filed will review the application. The How Do I Obtain a Water Right? (cont.) Division Engineer will have staff perform a field investiga-tion to verify the claims made on the application. These investigations are routinely conducted by the local water commissioners who work under the direction of the Division Engineer. Upon completion of the investigation, the Division Engineer will submit a written consultation to the water court stating his or her recommendations on the application. Assuming there is no opposition to your application, the matter usually goes before the water referee. The water referee is an employee of the court that rules on most of the cases prior to final review by a water judge. After the referee has reviewed your applica-tion, asked for further information and clarification from you, and received a consultation from the Divi-sion Engineer as to his or her recom-mendations on the application, the referee will issue what is known as a ruling. If any party disagrees with the decision, they may file a protest to the referee's ruling. If no protest is filed, the matter goes to the judge and he/she signs the ruling, making it a decree of the court. If the matter is protested, the case may go before the water judge for trial unless the parties can reach agreement on any contested issues. If the case goes to trial, the judge will set the matter for hearing and decide whether or not the application should be granted. Should any party participating in the case be dis-satisfied with the judge’s ruling, they can then appeal directly to the Colorado Supreme Court. The total time required for this process varies anywhere from four months to two years, depending on the complexity of the case.
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