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Disclaimer
This site is reference information about Colorado water law. It is not legal advice, and reading it creates no attorney–client relationship.
Colorado water rights turn on facts, decrees, dates and locations specific to a property. General information — however carefully sourced — cannot tell you what your right entitles you to, and acting on it without advice is how people lose water and money.
Not legal advice
Nothing on cowaterrights.com is legal advice or a legal opinion. We are not your lawyers. No communication with us, and no use of this site, creates an attorney–client relationship or any duty of care. If you need advice about a specific water right, property, decree, permit, deadline or dispute, consult a Colorado water attorney — we explain how to find one and what to bring.
Water law is unusually fact-dependent
Two rights on the same ditch, decreed for the same amount, can behave completely differently because of their priority dates, later decrees, ditch company bylaws, the call regime on that reach, or conditions imposed in a change case decades ago. The correct answer to almost every specific question is "it depends on your decree" — and reading yours is not something a general reference can do for you.
Law and records change
Statutes are amended, decrees are entered, rights are changed and abandoned, and administrative practice shifts. Every page shows the date its claims were last verified against primary sources; that date tells you how current the page was, not that it is current today. Always confirm against the linked primary source before acting.
Accuracy, and its limits
We check every legal claim against the official statute text and every data figure against the state's own records, and we say what we could not verify — see how this site is researched. Errors are still possible. We make no warranty, express or implied, as to accuracy, completeness or fitness for any purpose, and we are not liable for any loss arising from reliance on this site.
Deadlines are your responsibility
Colorado water deadlines are short and unforgiving — the window to oppose an application, to protest a referee's ruling, or to object to an abandonment list entry. Where we describe a deadline we cite the statute, but do not rely on this site to calculate your date. Missing one can extinguish a right permanently.
Links to other sites
We link to state agencies, courts and official publications so you can verify what we say. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content or availability. A link is not an endorsement, and no page here is endorsed by, affiliated with, or published on behalf of the Colorado Division of Water Resources, the Colorado Judicial Branch, the Office of Legislative Legal Services, or any other government body.
Public records and privacy
Some Colorado water records — well permits in particular — contain individuals' names and postal addresses. They are public because water administration requires it. This site explains how to use those records for a property you are dealing with; it does not reproduce individuals' personal details, and it is not a tool for looking people up.
No professional relationship of any kind
We are not attorneys, engineers, appraisers, brokers or agents, and nothing here is legal, engineering, financial, appraisal or real estate advice. Water transactions typically need a water attorney and a consulting water engineer; valuations need an appraiser with water experience.
Contact
If you find an error, we want to know. Corrections are made on the page and the verified date is updated when they are. See about this site for how to reach us.