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| Colorado Division of Water Resources | |
|---|---|
| Name | Colorado Division of Water Resources |
| Native name | DWR |
| Formed | 1879 |
| Preceding1 | Territorial Engineer's Office |
| Jurisdiction | Colorado |
| Headquarters | Denver |
| Parent agency | Colorado Department of Natural Resources |
| Chief1 name | Division Engineer |
Colorado Division of Water Resources The Colorado Division of Water Resources administers surface water and groundwater allocation within Colorado under the authority of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, the State Engineer (Colorado), and state statutes such as the Colorado Revised Statutes; it operates alongside interstate bodies like the Upper Colorado River Commission, the Colorado River Compact signatories, and federal entities including the Bureau of Reclamation, United States Geological Survey, and Environmental Protection Agency.
The office traces origins to territorial water oversight established during the Territorial Governor of Colorado era and early statehood decisions influenced by the Prior Appropriation Doctrine, early irrigation projects such as the Uncompahgre Project, and legal developments like the Wyoming v. Colorado litigation; it evolved through administrations of figures akin to territorial engineers, state engineers, and legislative actions by the Colorado General Assembly, shaped by disputes adjudicated in the Colorado Supreme Court and by interstate agreements including the 1922 Colorado River Compact and subsequent Upper Colorado River Basin Compact implementations.
Division structure aligns under the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the State Engineer; leadership historically interacts with offices such as the Governor of Colorado, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and the Colorado Water Quality Control Division. Division staff include division engineers, water commissioners, and technical specialists who coordinate with regional entities like the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the Denver Water utility, the Board of Water Works of Pueblo, and tribal stakeholders such as the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
Primary responsibilities encompass administration of water rights, enforcement of decrees issued by the Colorado Water Courts, oversight of reservoirs like Blue Mesa Reservoir and Horsetooth Reservoir, and coordination with federal projects including the Colorado-Big Thompson Project and the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. The division manages compacts among states including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Nevada through mechanisms tied to the Upper Colorado River Commission and works with the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers on allocation and operations.
The Division issues well permits, augments surface rights, and supervises augmentation plans linked to adjudication in the Colorado Water Courts and implementation by water providers such as Aurora Water, Colorado Springs Utilities, and irrigation districts like the San Luis Valley Irrigation District. It administers statutory frameworks derived from the Colorado Constitution and the Colorado Revised Statutes, coordinates with the Colorado Water Conservation Board on interstate compact compliance, and enforces priority under the prior appropriation doctrine as interpreted in cases before the Colorado Supreme Court and federal courts.
River basin offices correspond to major basins—South Platte River, Arkansas River (Colorado), Gunnison River, Colorado River, Yampa River, Rio Grande (Rio Grande Project), and San Juan River basins—and liaise with regional water districts including the South Platte Basin Roundtable, the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, the Gunnison Basin Roundtable, the Rio Grande Roundtable, and municipal systems like Pueblo Board of Water Works. These offices manage seasonally variable operations involving reservoirs such as John Martin Reservoir, coordinate with interstate tribunals like the Kansas v. Colorado adjudications, and support recovery actions under environmental statutes like the Endangered Species Act.
The Division maintains streamflow gages, well measurement networks, and water-use databases integrated with systems developed by the United States Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and state partners including the Colorado Energy Office for drought planning; it employs telemetry, remote sensing, and modeling tools similar to those used by the National Water Information System, the Colorado Climate Center, and research institutions such as Colorado State University and the University of Colorado Boulder to inform allocations and compact accounting.
Enforcement activities include investigations, cease-and-desist orders, and coordination with the Colorado Attorney General and the Colorado Water Courts to address violations of decrees, illegal well drilling, and unauthorized diversions; the Division works with federal agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Justice on interstate litigation and compliance matters, and supports policy implementation by bodies like the Colorado Water Conservation Board and municipal water providers.
Category:Water management in Colorado Category:State agencies of Colorado