Abstract

Colorado law favors transferability of the rights to use water. It promotes this objective in several ways. First, Colorado law regards water rights as vested property rights which may be transferred and conveyed in the same manner as other property rights. Second, it limits the basis for legal review of water rights transfers. Third, it treats water resources as largely interchangeable and promotes their maximum utilization.

Water rights in Colorado are of two basic types: those based on the appropriation of water and those based on land ownership. Simple changes in ownership may occur without restriction. Transfers involving changes in other attributes of a water right such as the purpose of use, however, are subject to legal review.

Changes in water rights involving a change in the use of water are common in Colorado and have been occurring for more than 100 years. During this period, Colorado water law and water transfer law have become increasingly sophisticated and complex. Because Colorado law stresses private rights to the use of water resources, most of this legal development has aimed at the definition and refinement of these private rights.

This article sets out a comprehensive survey of Colorado law governing the transferability of water resources. It provides a detailed discussion of the law governing changes of appropriative water rights. It describes other legal mechanisms available in Colorado for changing water use including exchanges, substituted supplies, and plans for augmentations. The article then turns to a number of legally distinctive categories of water and the special considerations for each concerning transferability. Next, it considers the various water supply organizations and the transferability of the water they provide. Finally the article suggests several areas in which Colorado transfer law and procedure could be improved.

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