In southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley, acequias, still used for irrigation today, were introduced by the original Spanish and Mexican settlers. Here, landowner Dave Marquez walks with Judy Lopez with Colorado Open Lands, discussing restoration on the Culebra River which traverses his property. Marquez irrigates from the Francisco Sanchez Acequia.
History of Colorado Water Law: Adaptation and Change Introduction Colorado water law rests on a strong foundation of territorial and state law. These laws prove a basic proposition time and again. Water is a public resource and water law evolves with the customs and values of the people. The story of Colorado water law is one of adaptation and change. Territorial water law that was developed to promote irrigation has turned into state law that serves a multitude of human and environmental needs. Colorado’s 1890 census registered a population of 407,500. By 2019, the state’s population had grown to nearly 5.7 million. Many areas of Colorado receive little natural precipitation. The average yearly precipitation in Colorado is about 17 inches, with substantial variation across the state, from just 7 inches in the middle 4
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of the San Luis Valley to more than 60 inches in some mountainous locations. The timing of precipitation also varies throughout the year. Rivers may flood with the rush of spring snowmelt, then dry up during hot summers interrupted only by the occasional thunderstorm (see WEco’s Citizen’s Guide to Where Your Water Comes From). In light of water’s scarcity and value in this arid region, Colorado water law is intended to provide security, reliability, and flexibility in the development and protection of water resources. • Security resides in the law’s ability to identify and protect water rights; • Reliability is assured by the system’s capacity to administer and enforce water rights over time; and • Flexibility allows water rights to be leased, sold, changed and exchanged. This Citizen’s Guide is designed to
provide a comprehensive and balanced overview of Colorado water law. It is for educational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for legal or engineering advice regarding Colorado water law or water rights.
Native American and Hispanic Water Uses Water scarcity has always been a fact of life in the West. The relatively new science of paleohydrology (the archeological study of ancient water structures) has uncovered ditches, reservoirs, aqueducts, cisterns and fountains crucial to native peoples for water supply and worship. In Colorado, paleohydrologists have discovered that four mounded areas at Mesa Verde National Park—once thought to be dance platforms—were actually canyon bottom and mesa top reservoirs CHRISTI BODE
