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Dataset Description

A Water Right is a property right that is either conditional or absolute and conveys the right to use a particular amount of water, with a specified priority date as confirmed by the water court.

  • The Transaction dataset contains the court decreed actions that affect amount and use(s) that can be used by each water right.
  • The Net Amounts dataset contains the current status of a water right based on all of its court decreed actions.
Columns in this Dataset
Column Name Description Type
Adjudication Date Date that the water right was awarded by the water court (see Data Dictionary under Help) date
Adjudication Type A​ - Absolute​, AB - Abandoned​, ​AP ​- ​Alternate Point​, ​C​ - Conditional​, CA​ - Conditional Made Absolute​, ​EX​ - ​Exchange​, O - Original​, S​ - ​Supplemental​, ​TF​ - ​Transfer from​, ​TT​ - ​Transfer to Text
Appropriation Date The date that water was first put to a specific beneficial use or the date that an open, overt act was taken at the intended point of diversion to demonstrate an intent to apply water for beneficial use. date
Associated WDID WDID of structure associated with selected structure Text
Association Type Association Type Text
Case Number Water Court case number associated with water right transaction Text
Comments Comments Text
County County where the structure is located Text
Decreed Use(s)

Beneficial uses of water right: • 0 - STORAGE • 1 - IRRIGATION • 2 - MUNICIPAL • 3 - COMMERCIAL • 4- INDUSTRIAL • 5 - RECREATION • 6 - FISHERY • 7 - FIRE • 8 - DOMESTIC • 9 - STOCK • A - AUGMENTATION • B - SUB-BASIN EXPORT • C - CHANGE OF USE RETURN FLOW • E - EVAPORATIVE • F - FEDERAL RESERVED • G - GEOTHERMAL • H - HOUSEHOLD USE ONLY • K - SNOW MAKING • M - MINIMUM STREAMFLOW • P - POWER GENERATION • Q - OTHER • R - RECHARGE • S - EXPORT FROM STATE • T - TRANSMOUNTAIN EXPORT • W - WILDLIFE • X - ALL BENEFICIAL USES

Text
Direction E/W Direction of measurement from East/West section line Text
Direction N/S Direction of measurement from North/South section line Text
Distance E/W Distance and direction from East/West section line (feet) Integer
Distance N/S Distance and direction from North/South section line (feet) Integer
Division DWR Water Division Integer
Due Diligence Case Number Due diligence case number Text
GNIS ID National Hydrographic Dataset stream identifier Text
Latitude Latitude (decimal degrees) Decimal (8,6)
Location Accuracy Accuracy of location coordinates Text
Longitude Longitude (decimal degrees) Decimal (9,6)
Max Decreed Rate (CFS) The maximum annual decreed rate (CFS). Decrees may have seasonal rates that differ from this amount Decimal (12,4)
Order No An order number may be assigned to distinguish decrees with identical dates but have been decreed to have specifically different priorities Integer
Permit Concatenation of permit number, suffix code, and replacement code Text
Plan Type Type of association plan Text
Plan WDID WDID of association plan Text
PM Principal Meridian of well’s legal location - there are 5 principal meridians in CO: Sixth (S), New Mexico (N), Baca (B), Costilla (C), and Ute (U) Text
Previous Adj Date The previous adjudication date field allows water rights to be ordered by priority with all rights awarded subsequent to a previous adjudication being junior date
Priority Admin No

A calculated number developed by DWR to rank water rights in order of seniority. The priority of the water right is based on the appropriation date and whether the water right is subject to the Subordination Doctrine. The appropriation date is the date decreed by the court that the water was first put to the decreed beneficial use. The Subordination Doctrine established by the court says water rights that are adjudicated after other water rights in their stream system must be subordinate to those rights previously decreed, regardless of their appropriation date. To determine whether or not a water right is subject to the Subordination Doctrine, DWR determines the "previous adjudication date" associated with the water right. Water rights that have no previous adjudication date or have an appropriation date that is later than the previous adjudication date can simply use their appropriation date as their administrative priority. Water rights with an appropriation date the same as or earlier than the previous adjudication date must be subordinated to those previously decreed rights. Using the appropriation date and previous adjudication date, the Priority Admin No (PAN) is calculated as follows:

  • If a water right has no previous adjudication date or the appropriation date of the water right is later than the previous adjudication date: the left side of the PAN is the number of days between 12/31/1849 and the appropriation date; and, the right side of the PAN is zeros (.00000).
  • If the appropriation date of a water right is the same as or earlier than the previous adjudication date: the left side of the PAN is the number of days between 12/31/1849 and the previous adjudication date; and, the right side is the number of days between 12/31/1849 and the appropriation date.
  • Decimal (11,5)
    Priority No An early District Court’s method to indicate a water right’s seniority in a water drainage. The Priority No is now largely meaningless. Text
    Properties Decree properties Text
    Q10 Legal location: 10 acre quarter section Text
    Q160 Legal location: 160 acre quarter section Text
    Q40 Legal location: 40 acre quarter section Text
    Range Legal location: A number in the format “nnnd” where “nnn” is the range number and “d” is the direction either East or West Text
    Seasonal Limits Flag indicating that the water right has decreed amounts that vary by date Text
    Section Section number - township, range divided into 36 one square mile sections; “U” indicates location in Ute Correction (Division 7 only) Text
    Stream Mile Distance in miles to the location downstream where the stream became a tributary to a larger stream. On the main stem, it is the distance to the state line. Decimal (10,2)
    Structure type Type of structure Text
    Subordinated Right Indicates whether the water right is subordinated to another water right Boolean
    Total Volumetric Limit (AF) The maximum annual decreed volumetric limit (AF). Decrees may have seasonal rates that differ from this amount Decimal (12,4)
    Township Legal location: Township number and direction Text
    UTM X The x (Easting) component of the Universal Transverse Mercator system. (Zone 13, NAD83 datum) Decimal (7,1)
    UTM Y The y (Northing) component of the Universal Transverse Mercator system. (Zone 13, NAD83 datum) Decimal (8,1)
    Water Right Name Name of structure associated with water right Text
    Water Source Name of the water source as specified in the court case Text
    WD DWR Water District Integer
    WDID DWR unique structure identifier Text