C.R.S. § 37-45-114 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 45 / Section 37-45-114
37-45-114. Appointment of board of directors
Status: repealed

37-45-114. Appointment of board of directors. (1) (a) Within thirty days after entering the decree incorporating said district, the court shall appoint a board of directors of the district with backgrounds reflecting the agricultural, municipal, industrial, and other interests in the beneficial use of water within the district. Such board shall consist of not more than fifteen persons who are residents of the counties in which the water conservancy district is situated, all of whom shall be the owners of real property in said district and knowledgeable in water matters. Directors shall be appointed so as to generally achieve geographical representation. No specific number of directors shall be required to represent any specific interest in the beneficial use of water. In order to achieve geographical representation, the court shall appoint a director from each county within the district which contains more than one percent of the total land area of the district, which person shall be the owner of real property within the district and within said county. Based on the most recent federal census, the court shall appoint the remaining directors, so far as practicable, in the same proportion that the population of each county or portion thereof within the district bears to the total population of the district. Said directors shall reside and own real property within each county, or portion thereof within the district, which is entitled to such proportional representation. The district shall maintain, for public inspection at its offices during normal working hours, a current list showing the names, counties of residence, and expiration dates of the terms of each member of the district's board of directors. Not more than sixty days and not less than forty-five days prior to expiration of a director's term, the conservancy district shall publish notice, once in a newspaper of general circulation within the district, that applications for appointment as director will be accepted by the court until thirty days prior to the expiration of the director's term. The notice shall specify the address of the court to which resumes may be sent, shall specify that the applicant must have resided within the district for a period of one year and be the owner of real property within the district, and, when applicable by decree or revised decree, shall specify that the applicant must be the owner of real property within the particular county whose director's term is expiring. If the organizational decree of the district provides criteria for the appointment of board members, the provisions of this paragraph (a), regarding geographical and population criteria for appointment, shall not apply to districts which were created pursuant to this article prior to July 1, 1985, unless the court enters an order pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subsection (1).

(b) At the expiration of their respective terms of office as fixed by the court, appointments of one-third of the board, to the nearest whole number, shall be made by said court for terms of one year; a like number shall be appointed for terms of two years; and the remainder shall be appointed for terms of four years. Thereafter all appointments of directors shall be for terms of four years. The court shall fill, for the duration of the unexpired term, any vacancy which may occur on the board. Each director shall hold office during the term for which he is appointed and until his successor is duly appointed and has qualified and shall furnish a corporate surety bond at the expense of the district, in the amount and form fixed and approved by the court, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties as such director.

(c) In the event that any water conservancy district extends into two or more judicial districts, or any parts thereof, the directors of such water conservancy district shall be appointed by the presiding district judges of all such judicial districts, who, sitting en banc, shall constitute "the court" for purposes of this paragraph (c) and paragraph (a) of this subsection (1). In the event of a disagreement regarding appointees, the presiding judge of each judicial district shall appoint the directors from each eligible county within his judicial district.

(d) The court which entered the organizational decree of a district created before July 1, 1985, may reopen the organizational decree in accordance with this subsection (1). If a petition to reopen any such organizational decree is filed with the court in which the decree was originally entered, such petition shall be signed by the board of directors in its discretion or by the owners of ten percent of the allocation of a district's water supply or by ten percent of the registered electors who have resided within the district for a period of one year and who are owners of real property within the district. The court shall promptly conduct a hearing for the limited purpose of reviewing and revising the organizational decree, if necessary to meet the criteria of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1), to specify the number of directors from each county according to the criteria of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1). After the initial reopening and revision of a decree under the provisions of this subsection (1), such decree may be reopened and revised only once every ten years if necessary to reflect the criteria of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1). Any revision to the decree shall take effect upon entry, but no provision of the revised decree shall remove a director then serving prior to the expiration of his term. A director whose term expires after a proper petition has been filed pursuant to this paragraph (d) shall continue to serve, and the court shall make no appointment of a successor director until such time as a revised organizational decree is entered pursuant to this paragraph (d) or until the court makes a determination that no revision is necessary. The revised decree shall stagger the terms of the directors so that no more than one-third of the terms of the directors shall expire in any given year.

(e) Upon petition or upon its own motion, the court may remove any director of a district board for malfeasance, misfeasance, willful neglect of duty, or any other cause which renders such director incapable or unfit to perform the duties of his office. Such action for removal of a director shall occur after notice and a public hearing, unless such notice and hearing is expressly waived in writing by the challenged director.

(2) In the event that a petition, signed by not fewer than ten percent of the registered electors residing in a county, or portion of a county entitled to a director, of a water conservancy district, which electors, for the purpose of this subsection (2), are those persons entitled to vote in general elections, praying for the election of a director from that county to fill the term of office of the specified director from that county then about to expire, in lieu of the appointment thereof by the court, shall be filed with the clerk of the court at any time prior to ninety days preceding the expiration date of the term of office of such director appointed by the court, the court shall order the holding of an election in the county, or portion of a county entitled to a director, in the district for the purpose of filling the vacancy to be caused by the expiration of the term of office of the director so about to expire in lieu of the appointment of a successor by the court as provided in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) Upon the entry of such order by the court, the clerk of the court shall prepare a certified copy of such order and file the same with the board of directors which shall thereafter provide for the holding of such election for the election of such member of the board of directors in accordance with the provisions of section 37-45-139.

(4) Any director so elected shall have the qualifications required for members of the board of directors appointed by the court and shall furnish like bond as required of directors appointed by the court under subsection (1) of this section.

(5) The call of such election shall be published as required by the provisions of section 37-45-140, and such election and the canvass of returns thereof shall be held in pursuance of the provisions of section 37-45-141.

(6) Repealed.
C.R.S. § 37-50-138.5 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 50 / Section 37-50-138.5
37-50-138.5. Prohibition on duplication of water use fees
Status: in_force

37-50-138.5. Prohibition on duplication of water use fees. Notwithstanding any provision of this article 50 to the contrary, a person or entity within the district, which person or entity is obligated to provide augmentation to a river system other than the Republican river pursuant to a decreed plan of augmentation, is not required to pay water use fees to the district.
C.R.S. § 37-45-145 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 45 / Section 37-45-145
37-45-145. Early hearings
Status: in_force

37-45-145. Early hearings. All cases in which there arises a question of the validity of the organization of a water conservancy district, or a question of the validity of any proceeding under this article, shall be advanced as a matter of immediate public interest and concern and heard at the earliest practicable moment. The courts shall be open at all times for the purposes of this article.
C.R.S. § 37-41-106 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 41 / Section 37-41-106
37-41-106. Directors - election - term
Status: in_force

37-41-106. Directors - election - term. (1) The regular election of said district for the purpose of electing a board of directors shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in December of each year, at which time one director shall be elected for a term of three years; except that, at the first election held to choose the first board of directors after the organization of any district has been effected, the person having the highest number of votes shall continue in office for the full term of three years; the next highest for two years; and the next highest for one year. But if two or more persons have the same number of votes, then their term shall be determined by lot, under the direction of the county judge of the county wherein the organization of said district has been effected. The person receiving the highest number of votes for any office to be filled at such election is elected thereto.

(2) After receiving their certificates of election provided for in section 37-41-112 (2), said officers shall take an oath or affirmation in accordance with section 24-12-101. Each member of the board of directors shall execute an official bond in the sum of three thousand dollars, which bond shall be approved by the county judge of the county wherein such organization was effected, and shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk and recorder thereof. Such official bond may be signed by a surety company authorized to do business in the state of Colorado, in which case the district shall be liable for and shall pay premium on said bond. All official bonds shall be in the form prescribed by law for official bonds for county officials; except that the obligee named in said bonds shall be to the district and shall be filed with the county clerk and recorder at the same time as the filing of the oath or affirmation provided for in this section.
C.R.S. § 37-3-106 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 3 / Section 37-3-106
37-3-106. Regulations to protect works
Status: in_force

37-3-106. Regulations to protect works. (1) Where necessary, in order to secure the best results from the execution and operation of the plans of the district or to prevent damage to the district by the deterioration or misuse or by the pollution of the waters of any watercourse therein, the board of directors may make regulations for and may prescribe the manner of building bridges, roads, fences, or other works in, into, along, or across any channel, reservoir, or other construction; and may prescribe the manner in which ditches or other works shall be adjusted to or connected with the works of the district or any watercourse therein; and, when not in conflict with the rules of the water quality control commission, may prescribe the manner in which the watercourses of the district may be used for sewer outlets or for disposal of waste.

(2) The construction of any works in a manner harmful to the district or to any watercourse therein, and in a manner contrary to that specified by the board of directors, is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars. The directors have authority to enforce by mandamus or other legal proceedings all necessary regulations made by them and authorized by articles 1 to 8 of this title and may remove any harmful construction or may close any opening improperly made. Any person, corporation, or municipality willfully failing to comply with such regulations is liable for all damage caused by such failure and for the cost of renewing any construction damaged or destroyed.
C.R.S. § 37-3-114 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 3 / Section 37-3-114
37-3-114. Removal of structures
Status: in_force

37-3-114. Removal of structures. (1) For the accomplishment of the official plan, the board of directors of any district has full power to improve in alignment, section, grade, location, or any other manner any watercourse, and it may remove, widen, lengthen, lower, raise, or otherwise change any public or private road bridge or railroad bridge, or any flume, aqueduct, or telephone, telegraph, gas, oil, sewer, water, or other pipelines, or any other construction over, across, in, into, under, or through any such watercourse or may require the same to be done. The foregoing shall apply to all such changes specified by the official plan or reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of the same; but, if any such change is made necessary in any construction because of the failure of the same to permit the free flow of water in such stream in time of flood or to permit the necessary enlargement or protection of the channel, then the owner of such construction shall make such change and all adjustments of grade, roadway, track, approach, or other construction incidental thereto, without cost to the district and without any claim for damages against the district; but the district shall pay the cost of excavating the earth for the enlargement of any channel or for placing earth for the filling of any channel, where such excavation or filling is required as a part of the official plan in making the changes outlined in this section. The district shall not be required to make such fill or excavation unless the same would be necessary to the official plan if the construction or work so changed did not exist.

(2) Before the removal, change, or modification of any work or construction outlined in this section, the board of directors shall give notice to the owner thereof requiring that the same be adapted to the official plan. In case such removals, changes, or adjustments are not commenced and completed by the owner within the respective times specified therefor in such notice, which time shall be reasonable under all circumstances, such removals, changes, or adjustments may be made by the district at the expense of the owner.
C.R.S. § 37-48-136 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 48 / Section 37-48-136
37-48-136. Appointment of appraisers
Status: in_force

37-48-136. Appointment of appraisers. If the plan of financing set forth in the petition and order creating the subdistrict utilizes special improvement bonds, paid by special assessments upon the property benefited within the subdistrict, as a means of financing the execution of the official plan, then, at the time of making its order organizing the district or at any time thereafter, the court shall appoint a board of three appraisers, referred to in this article as the "board of appraisers" or the "appraisers", whose duty it shall be to appraise the lands or other property within and without the district to be acquired for rights-of-way, reservoirs, and other works of the district and to appraise all benefits and damages accruing to all land within or without the district by reason of the execution of the official plan. Each of the appraisers, before taking up his duties, shall take and subscribe to an oath that he will faithfully and impartially discharge his duties as such appraiser and that he will make a true report of such work done by him. The appraisers at their first meeting shall elect one of their own number chairman, and minutes of their meetings shall be maintained. A majority of the appraisers shall constitute a quorum, and a concurrence of the majority in any matter within their duties shall be sufficient for its determination. The court, by order, may remove any appraiser at any time and shall fill all vacancies in the board of appraisers or may appoint a new board, as occasion may require, which new board, if appointed, shall perform all the duties and exercise all the powers of the board of appraisers of the district.
C.R.S. § 37-47-128 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 47 / Section 37-47-128
37-47-128. Limitations on power to levy and contract
Status: in_force

37-47-128. Limitations on power to levy and contract. (1) The district has no power of taxation or right to levy or assess taxes, except an annual levy, not exceeding six-tenths of a mill on each dollar of the valuation for assessment of property in said district, as provided in section 37-47-109. The district has no power to contract or incur any obligation or indebtedness except as expressly provided in this article, and then any obligation or indebtedness so contracted or incurred is to be payable out of the funds derived through said limited tax and not otherwise; except that said district for and in behalf of any subdistrict or improvement district created under this article has the right to issue obligations as expressly authorized in this article and not otherwise.

(2) Before July 1, 2024, all assessments under this article 47 shall be collected by the county treasurer of the respective counties in which said real estate is situated at the same time and in the same manner as is provided by law for the collection of taxes for county and state purposes, and, if said assessments are not paid, then the real estate shall be sold at the regular tax sale for the payment of said assessments, interest, and penalties in the manner provided by the statutes of the state of Colorado for selling property for the payment of general taxes. If there are no bids at said tax sale for the property so offered, said property shall be struck off to the district, and the tax certificates shall be issued in the name of the district, and the board of directors has the same power with reference to the sale of said tax certificates as is now vested in county commissioners and county treasurers when property is struck off to the counties.

(3) Before July 1, 2024, tax deeds may be issued, based upon said certificates of sale, in the same manner that deeds are executed on tax sales on general state and county taxes.

(4) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, on or after July 1, 2024, the district, a subdistrict, or a county treasurer shall follow the procedures established in article 11.5 of title 39 and shall not follow the procedures established in this section or article 11 of title 39 concerning the sale or striking off of property to the district or the issuance of a certificate of sale or tax deed. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, on or after July 1, 2024, a lot or parcel of land shall not be struck off to the district and a tax certificate or tax deed shall not be issued pursuant to this section or article 11 of title 39 to the extent such actions would be inconsistent with the requirements of article 11.5 of title 39.
C.R.S. § 37-45-136 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 45 / Section 37-45-136
37-45-136. Inclusion of lands
Status: in_force

37-45-136. Inclusion of lands. (1) The boundaries of any district organized under the provisions of this article may be changed in the manner prescribed in this article, but the change of boundaries of the district shall not impair or affect its organization or its rights in or to property or any of its rights or privileges whatsoever, nor shall it affect or impair or discharge any contract, obligation, lien, or charge for or upon which it might be liable or chargeable had such change of boundaries not been made.

(2) The owners of lands may file a petition with the board, in writing, praying that such lands be included in the district. The petition shall describe the tracts or body of land owned by the petitioners, and such petition shall be deemed to give the assent of the petitioners to the inclusion in said district of the lands described in the petition, and such petition must be acknowledged in the same manner that conveyances of land are required to be acknowledged. The secretary of the board shall cause notice of filing of such petition to be given and published in the county in which the lands are situated, which notice shall state the filing of such petition, names of petitioners, descriptions of lands mentioned, and the prayer of said petitioners, giving notice to all persons interested to appear at the office of the board at any time named in said notice and show cause in writing why the petition should not be granted. At the time and place mentioned or at such time to which the hearing may be adjourned, the board shall proceed to hear the petition and all objections thereto, presented in writing by any person showing cause why said petition should not be granted. The failure of any person interested to show cause shall be deemed an assent on his part to the inclusion of such lands in the district as prayed for in the petition. If the petition is granted, the board shall make an order to that effect and file the same with the clerk of the court, and, upon order of the court, said lands shall be included in the district.

(3) (a) In addition to the method provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section, additional areas, either contiguous or noncontiguous to the district, and including irrigated lands, nonirrigated lands, towns and cities, and other lands and any one or more of the same, may be included in the district by petition, which petition shall be filed in the district court of the county in which the petition for organization of the original district was filed, signed by not fewer than twenty-five percent of the owners of irrigated lands in said area but not embraced within the corporate limits of a city or town; and each tract of land shall be listed opposite the name of the signer. Each such tract together with the improvements thereon shall have a valuation for assessment of not less than one thousand dollars. The petition shall also be signed by not fewer than five percent of the owners of nonirrigated lands or lands embraced within the incorporated limits of a city or town, all situated in the area embraced in said petition; and each tract of land shall be listed opposite the name of the signer. Each such tract together with improvements thereon shall have a valuation for assessment of not less than one thousand dollars. Said petition shall set forth a general description of the territory in the area sought to be included in the district, the name of the district in which it is sought to be included, and a statement that the property sought to be included will be benefited by the accomplishment of the purposes for which the original district was formed and shall pray for the inclusion of the area in the district.

(b) No petition with the requisite signatures shall be declared null and void on account of alleged defects, but the court may permit the petition to be amended at any time to conform to the facts by correcting any errors in the description of the territory or in any other particular. However, similar petitions or duplicate copies of the same petition for the inclusion of the same area may be filed and shall together be regarded as one petition. All such petitions filed prior to the hearing on the first petition filed shall be considered by the court the same as though filed with the first petition placed on file.

(c) In determining whether the requisite number of landowners has signed the petition, the names as they appear upon the tax roll shall be prima facie evidence of such ownership.

(d) At the time of filing the petition or at any time subsequent thereto, and prior to the time of hearing on said petition, a bond shall be filed, with security approved by the court, sufficient to pay all expenses connected with the proceedings in case the inclusion of the area is not effected. If at any time during the proceeding the court is satisfied that the bond first executed is insufficient in amount, it may require the execution of an additional bond within a time to be fixed to be not less than ten days distant, and, upon failure of the petitioner to execute the same, the petition shall be dismissed.

(e) Immediately after the filing of such petition, the court wherein such petition is filed, by order, shall fix a place and time, not less than sixty days nor more than ninety days after the petition is filed, for hearing thereon, and thereupon the clerk of said court shall cause notice by publication to be made of the pendency of the petition and of the time and place of hearing thereon. The clerk of said court shall also forthwith cause a copy of said notice to be mailed by registered mail to the board of county commissioners of each of the several counties having territory within the area proposed to be included within the district.

(f) No city, or city and county, having a population of more than twenty-five thousand as determined by the last United States census shall be included within such area proposed to be included within the district unless by and with the written consent of the chief executive officer of such city, or city and county, with the approval of the legislative body of such municipality, and such consent may specify that the rate of taxation on the valuation for assessment of property within said city, or city and county, under section 37-45-122, shall not exceed a maximum rate which may be less than the rates set out in said section 37-45-122, and in such case the district shall not have power to levy an assessment on the property in said city, or city and county, at a greater rate than that specified in said consent.

(g) Not less than thirty days prior to the time fixed by order of court for the hearing on said petition, and not thereafter, a petition may be filed in the office of the clerk of the court wherein the proceeding for inclusion is pending, signed by not fewer than twenty percent of the owners of irrigated lands in said area but not embraced within the incorporated limits of a city or town, who have not signed the petition for inclusion, and also signed by not fewer than five percent of the owners of nonirrigated lands or lands embraced in the incorporated limits of a city or town, all situated in said area proposed to be included within the district, who have not signed the petition for inclusion, protesting the inclusion of said area. The signers of said protesting petition shall state therein the land owned by each and also shall state the value thereof as shown by the last preceding assessment.

(h) In the event a petitioner signs such petition both as owner of irrigated and nonirrigated land situated within a municipality, his name shall be counted only as an owner of irrigated lands.

(i) Upon the day set for the hearing upon the original petition, if it appears to the court that said protesting petition is not signed by the requisite number of owners of lands and of the requisite value, the court shall thereupon dismiss said protesting petition and shall proceed with the original hearing as provided in this section.

(j) If the court finds from the evidence that said protesting petition is signed by the requisite number of owners of lands, and of the requisite values, the court shall forthwith dismiss the original petition for inclusion. The finding of the court upon the question of such valuation, the genuineness of the signatures, and all matters of law and fact incident to such determination shall be final and conclusive on all parties in interest whether appearing or not.

(k) Any owner of real property in said proposed area not having individually signed a petition for the inclusion, and desiring to object to the inclusion, on or before ten days prior to the date set for the cause to be heard, may file objection to the inclusion.

(l) Such objection shall be limited to a denial of the statements in the petition and shall be heard by the court as an advanced case without unnecessary delay.

(m) Any owner of irrigated land in said proposed area who has not individually signed a petition for the inclusion of the area within the district and who desires to have his irrigated lands excluded from said district, on or before ten days prior to the date set for the cause to be heard, may file a petition in said district court asking to have his irrigated lands excluded therefrom. Any petition so filed shall be heard by the district court on the date set for the hearing of the petition for inclusion of the area, and the district court shall exclude such irrigated lands from the area proposed for inclusion within the district.

(n) Upon said hearing, if it appears that a petition for the inclusion has been signed and presented, as provided in this subsection (3), in conformity with this article, and that the allegations of the petition are true, and that no protesting petition has been filed, or if filed has been dismissed by order duly entered of record, the court shall adjudicate all questions of jurisdiction and declare the area included in the district to the same extent and as fully as if said area had been included in the original petition for the organization of the district; except that, prior to the entry of its decree including such area within the district, the court shall obtain the verified consent of the board of directors of the district to the inclusion of such area, which consent shall set forth the terms and conditions upon which said area shall be included, which terms may include the price and value per acre-foot of water to be allotted and contracted for use within said included area and which said terms and conditions shall be embodied in the decree of said court.

(o) If the court finds that no petition has been signed and presented in conformity with this section, or that the material facts are not as set forth in the petition filed, it shall dismiss said proceedings and adjudge the costs against the signers of the petition in such proportion as it deems just and equitable. No appeal or other remedy lies from an order dismissing said proceeding; but nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the filing of a subsequent petition for similar purposes, and the right so to renew such proceeding is expressly granted and authorized.

(3.5) (a) As an alternative to the procedures set forth in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, a petition for inclusion and for an election on inclusion of lands within a water conservancy district may be filed in the district court of the county in which the petition for organization of the original district was filed. The petition shall be signed by not less than twenty-five percent of the owners of agricultural lands of the area embraced by the proposed lands to be included and by not less than ten percent of the electors of said area embraced by the proposed lands to be included. The petition shall show that the board of directors of the district has given its verified approval to the inclusion of such area in the district and shall recite the terms and conditions upon which said area shall be included, if any, which the board of directors of the district may have required, in its discretion, as a prerequisite to the inclusion. The board of directors of the district may require, as one of the conditions of its approval of the proposed inclusion, that the petitioners post a sufficient bond to cover the costs of the election. If no bond is so required, the district shall be deemed to have agreed to pay the costs of the election. The proposed boundary of the lands to be included within the district may include any part or all of any county, city, or city and county of any size. Such petition and the hearing thereon shall otherwise comply with the provisions of this section which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection (3.5).

(b) On the day fixed for hearing, or at a continuance thereof, the court shall first ascertain, from such evidence which may be adduced, that the required number of electors of the area to be included in the district have signed the petition and that the board of directors has approved the inclusion of lands in the district. Upon said hearing, if it appears that the petition for inclusion has been signed and presented in conformity with this subsection (3.5) and that the allegations of the petition are true, the court, by order duly entered of record, shall direct that the question of the inclusion of lands in the water conservancy district be submitted at an election, to be held for that purpose, of electors of the area embraced within the inclusion petition. Such election shall be conducted by the board of directors of the district in the same manner set forth in sections 37-45-139 to 37-45-141.

(c) At such election the voter shall vote for or against the inclusion of lands in the water conservancy district. If the terms and conditions on inclusion have been set by the board of directors of the district, said terms and conditions shall be identified to the electors. If a majority of votes cast at said election are in favor of inclusion, the court, on the motion of the board of directors of the district, shall declare the area included in the district to the same extent and as fully as if said area had been included in the original petition for the organization of the district; except that, if the proposed inclusion in a district includes any territory within a municipality and a majority of the votes cast by the voters residing within that incorporated area are against inclusion in the district, the governing body of said municipality may, within thirty days after certification of the election results, petition the court for exclusion from the district of such incorporated area, and the court shall exclude such territory from the district. Any order of the court so including lands in a district shall incorporate the terms and conditions, if any, for inclusion which the board of directors of the district has required as a prerequisite to inclusion.

(3.6) Whenever a municipality has annexed land into its boundaries and that municipality at the time of annexation previously had lands within its boundaries included within the district, upon consent of the governing body of the municipality, and upon consent by the board of directors of the district, the annexed lands shall be deemed to have been included within the district, subject to terms and conditions as determined by the board of directors of the district that shall not be inconsistent with the terms and conditions of previous applicable inclusion orders relating to that municipality. The municipality shall promptly transmit to the district a certified copy of the municipality's annexation ordinance. Upon receipt of the municipality's annexation ordinance, the board of directors of the district shall promptly act to grant or deny consent to the inclusion of the newly annexed lands into the district. If the board of directors of the district consents to such inclusion, and the municipality agrees to any terms and conditions to the inclusion adopted by the board of directors of the district, the district shall file with the court a certified copy of the municipality's annexation ordinance and a petition of the district for inclusion of the annexed lands that states the terms and conditions of inclusion as determined by the board of directors of the district. Upon the district's filing of a certified copy of the municipality's annexation ordinance and a petition of the district for inclusion of the annexed lands, the court shall enter an order including such lands within the boundaries of the district, upon the terms and conditions set forth in the petition.

(4) As a part of any order entered establishing the inclusion of lands or areas into the district, the court shall designate the division of the district to which such included lands or areas shall be attached or shall, in combination with or in lieu of the foregoing, create a new division from such included lands or areas and appoint the directors therefor; but the total number of directors of the district shall not exceed fifteen.

(5) (a) If an order is entered establishing the inclusion of lands or areas into the district, such order shall be deemed final and no appeal or other remedy lies therefrom, and the entry of such order shall finally and conclusively establish the inclusion of the lands or areas against all persons except the state of Colorado, in an action in the nature of quo warranto commenced by the attorney general within three months after said decree declaring such lands or areas included as provided, and not otherwise. The inclusion of said lands or areas shall not be directly or collaterally questioned in any suit, action, or proceeding except as expressly authorized in this section.

(b) Upon the entry of such decree, the clerk of the court shall transmit, to the division of local government in the department of local affairs and to the county clerk and recorder in each of the counties in which said lands or areas are located, copies of the findings and decree of the court including such lands or areas in the district. The same shall be recorded with said division, and copies shall also be filed in the office of the county clerk and recorder in each county in which a part of the district may be, where they shall become permanent records.
C.R.S. § 37-60-119 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 60 / Part 1 / Section 37-60-119
37-60-119. Construction of water and power facilities - contracts with and charges against
Status: in_force

37-60-119. Construction of water and power facilities - contracts with and charges against users. (1) (a) In order to promote the general welfare and safety of the citizens of this state and to protect the allocation of interstate waters to the state, the board may, subject to the provisions in section 37-60-122, construct, rehabilitate, enlarge, or improve, or loan money to enable the construction, rehabilitation, enlargement, or improvement of, such flood control, water supply, and hydroelectric energy facilities, excluding water treatment facilities, together with related recreational facilities, in whole or in part, as will, in the opinion of the board, abate floods or conserve, effect more efficient use of, develop, or protect the water and hydroelectric energy resources and supplies of the state of Colorado.

(b) In carrying out this subsection (1), the board shall place special emphasis upon the adoption and incorporation of measures that will encourage the conservation and more efficient use of water, including the installation of water meters or such other measuring and control devices as the board deems appropriate in each particular case.

(2) The board may, subject to section 37-60-122, enter into contracts for the use of, or to loan money to enable the construction, rehabilitation, enlargement, or improvement of, flood control, water, power, and any related recreational facilities, excluding water treatment facilities, with any agency or political subdivision of this state or the federal government, individuals, corporations, or organizations composed of citizens of this state. The contracts may provide for such charges to the using entity as, in the opinion of the board, are necessary and reasonable to recover the board's capital investment, together with operational, maintenance, and interest charges over the term of years agreed upon by contract. Interest charges shall be recommended by the board at between zero and seven percent on the basis of the project sponsor's ability to pay and the significance of the project to the development and protection of the water supplies of the state. Interest charges shall be credited to and made a part of the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. Any other charges, as determined appropriate by the board, are continuously appropriated to the Colorado water conservation board for supplemental operational expenditures.

(3) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2002, p. 456, § 29, effective May 23, 2002.)
C.R.S. § 37-31-112 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 31 / Section 37-31-112
37-31-112. Appointment of substitute judges
Status: in_force

37-31-112. Appointment of substitute judges. If the board of directors fails to appoint judges or the appointees fail to attend at the hour designated for opening the polls on the morning of election, the voters of the precinct present at that hour may appoint one or more judges to take the places of those absent.
C.R.S. § 37-21-104 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 21 / Section 37-21-104
37-21-104. President - secretary - district treasurer - seal
Status: in_force

37-21-104. President - secretary - district treasurer - seal. The board of directors shall elect a president from the members of the board and shall appoint a secretary and a district treasurer and adopt a drainage district seal.
C.R.S. § 37-90-107 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 90 / Section 37-90-107
37-90-107. Application for use of groundwater - publication of notice - conditional permit
Status: repealed

37-90-107. Application for use of groundwater - publication of notice - conditional permit - hearing on objections - well permits. (1) Any person desiring to appropriate groundwater for a beneficial use in a designated groundwater basin shall make application to the commission in a form to be prescribed by the commission. The applicant shall specify the particular designated groundwater basin or subdivision thereof from which water is proposed to be appropriated, the beneficial use to which it is proposed to apply such water, the location of the proposed well, the name of the owner of the land on which such well will be located, the estimated average annual amount of water applied for in acre-feet, the estimated maximum pumping rate in gallons per minute, and, if the proposed use is irrigation, the description of the land to be irrigated and the name of the owner thereof, together with such other reasonable information as the commission may designate on the form prescribed. The amount of water applied for shall only be utilized on the land designated on the application. The place of use shall not be changed without first obtaining authorization from the ground water commission.

(2) Upon the filing of such application, a preliminary evaluation shall be made to determine if the application may be granted. If the application can be given favorable consideration by the ground water commission under existing policies, then, within thirty days, the application shall be published.

(3) After the expiration of the time for filing objections, if no such objections have been filed, the commission shall, if it finds that the proposed appropriation will not unreasonably impair existing water rights from the same source and will not create unreasonable waste, grant the said application, and the state engineer shall issue a conditional permit to the applicant within forty-five days after the expiration of the time for filing objections or within forty-five days after the hearing provided for in subsection (4) of this section to appropriate all or a part of the waters applied for, subject to such reasonable conditions and limitations as the commission may specify.

(4) If objections have been filed within the time in said notice specified, the commission shall set a date for a hearing on the application and the objections thereto and shall notify the applicants and the objectors of the time and place. Such hearing shall be held in the designated groundwater basin and within the district, if one exists, in which the proposed well will be located or at such other place as may be designated by the commission for the convenience of, and as agreed to by, the parties involved. If after such hearing it appears that there are no unappropriated waters in the designated source or that the proposed appropriation would unreasonably impair existing water rights from such source or would create unreasonable waste, the application shall be denied; otherwise, it shall be granted in accordance with subsection (3) of this section. The commission shall consider all evidence presented at the hearing and all other matters set forth in this section in determining whether the application should be denied or granted.

(5) In ascertaining whether a proposed use will create unreasonable waste or unreasonably affect the rights of other appropriators, the commission shall take into consideration the area and geologic conditions, the average annual yield and recharge rate of the appropriate water supply, the priority and quantity of existing claims of all persons to use the water, the proposed method of use, and all other matters appropriate to such questions. With regard to whether a proposed use will impair uses under existing water rights, impairment shall include the unreasonable lowering of the water level, or the unreasonable deterioration of water quality, beyond reasonable economic limits of withdrawal or use. If an application for a well permit cannot otherwise be granted pursuant to this section, a well permit may be issued upon approval by the ground water commission of a replacement plan that meets the requirements of this article and the rules adopted by the commission. A replacement plan shall not be used as a vehicle for avoiding limitations on existing wells, including but not limited to restrictions on change of well location. Therefore, before approving any replacement plan that includes existing wells, the commission shall require independent compliance with all rules governing those existing wells in addition to compliance with any guidelines or rules governing replacement plans.

(5.5) A person withdrawing water from a well pursuant to subsection (3) of this section may use graywater through use of a graywater treatment works, as those terms are defined in section 25-8-103 (8.3) and (8.4), C.R.S., in compliance with the requirements of section 25-8-205 (1)(g), C.R.S. Any limitations on use set forth in the well permit, or in the provisions of any approved replacement plan, apply to the use of graywater.

(6) (a) (I) A person shall not, in connection with the extraction of sand and gravel by open mining, as defined in section 34-32.5-103 (15), expose designated groundwater to the atmosphere unless the person has obtained a well permit from the ground water commission. If an application for such a well permit cannot otherwise be granted pursuant to this section, a well permit shall be issued upon approval by the ground water commission of a replacement plan that meets the requirements of this article 90, pursuant to the guidelines or rules adopted by the commission. The well permit and replacement plan may authorize uses of water incidental to open mining for sand and gravel, including processing and washing mined materials; dust suppression; mined land reclamation including temporary irrigation for revegetation; liner or slurry wall construction; production of concrete and other aggregate-based construction materials; dewatering; and mitigation of impacts from mining and dewatering.

(II) Any person who extracted sand and gravel by open mining and exposed groundwater to the atmosphere after December 31, 1980, shall apply for a well permit pursuant to this section and, if applicable, shall submit a replacement plan prior to July 15, 1990.

(b) If any designated groundwater was exposed to the atmosphere in connection with the extraction of sand and gravel by open mining as defined in section 34-32-103 (9), C.R.S., prior to January 1, 1981, no such well permit or replacement plan shall be required to replace depletions from evaporation; except that the burden of proving that such designated groundwater was exposed prior to January 1, 1981, shall be upon the party claiming the benefit of this exception.

(c) Any person who has reactivated or reactivates open mining operations which exposed designated groundwater to the atmosphere but which ceased activity prior to January 1, 1981, shall obtain a well permit and shall apply for approval of a replacement plan or a plan of substitute supply pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (6).

(d) In addition to the well permit filing fee required by section 37-90-116, the commission shall collect the following fees for exposing groundwater to the atmosphere for the extraction of sand and gravel by open mining:

(I) For persons who exposed groundwater to the atmosphere on or after January 1, 1981, but prior to July 15, 1989, one thousand five hundred ninety-three dollars; except that, if such plan is filed prior to July 15, 1990, as required by subparagraph (II) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (6), the filing fee shall be seventy dollars if such plan includes ten acres or less of exposed groundwater surface area or three hundred fifty dollars if such plan includes more than ten acres of exposed groundwater surface area;

(II) For persons who expose groundwater to the atmosphere on or after July 15, 1989, one thousand five hundred ninety-three dollars regardless of the number of acres exposed. In the case of new mining operations, such fee shall cover two years of operation of the plan.

(III) For persons who reactivated or who reactivate mining operations that ceased activity prior to January 1, 1981, and who enlarge the surface area of any gravel pit lake beyond the area it covered before the cessation of activity, one thousand five hundred ninety-three dollars;

(IV) For persons who request renewal of an approved substitute water supply plan prior to the expiration date of the plan, two hundred fifty-seven dollars regardless of the number of acres exposed;

(V) For persons whose approved substitute water supply plan has expired and who submit a subsequent plan, one thousand five hundred ninety-three dollars regardless of the number of acres exposed. An approved plan shall be considered expired if the applicant has not applied for renewal before the expiration date of the plan. The state engineer shall notify the applicant in writing if the plan is considered expired.

(VI) For persons whose proposed substitute water supply plan was disapproved and who submit a subsequent plan, one thousand five hundred ninety-three dollars regardless of the number of acres exposed. The state engineer shall notify the applicant in writing of disapproval of a plan.

(e) Excluding the well permit filing fee required by section 37-90-116 (2), the state treasurer shall credit all fees collected with a replacement plan to the water resources cash fund created in section 37-80-111.7 (1).

(f) A person who has obtained a reclamation permit pursuant to section 34-32-112, C.R.S., shall be allowed to apply for a single well permit and to submit a single replacement plan for the entire acreage covered by the reclamation plan without regard to the number of gravel pit lakes located within such acreage.

(g) Notwithstanding the amount specified for any fee in paragraph (d) of this subsection (6), the commission by rule or as otherwise provided by law may reduce the amount of one or more of the fees if necessary pursuant to section 24-75-402 (3), C.R.S., to reduce the uncommitted reserves of the fund to which all or any portion of one or more of the fees is credited. After the uncommitted reserves of the fund are sufficiently reduced, the commission by rule or as otherwise provided by law may increase the amount of one or more of the fees as provided in section 24-75-402 (4), C.R.S.

(7) (a) The commission shall allocate, upon the basis of the ownership of the overlying land, any designated groundwater contained in the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers. Permits issued pursuant to this subsection (7) shall allow withdrawals on the basis of an aquifer life of one hundred years. The commission shall adopt the necessary rules to carry out the provisions of this subsection (7).

(b) Any right to the use of groundwater entitling its owner or user to construct a well, which right was initiated prior to November 19, 1973, as evidenced by a current decree, well registration statement, or an unexpired well permit issued prior to November 19, 1973, shall not be subject to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (7).

(c) (I) (A) and (B) Repealed.

(C) Effective July 1, 2006, rights to designated groundwater in the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers to be allocated pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (7) may be determined in accordance with the provisions of this section. Any person desiring to obtain such a determination shall make application to the commission in a form to be prescribed by the commission. A fee of sixty dollars shall be submitted with the application for each aquifer, which sum shall not be refunded. The application may also include a request for approval of a replacement plan if one is required under commission rules to replace any depletions to alluvial aquifers caused due to withdrawal of groundwater from the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers.

(II) The publication and hearing requirements of this section shall also apply to an application for determination of water rights pursuant to this subsection (7).

(III) Any such commission approved determination shall be considered a final determination of the amount of groundwater so determined; except that the commission shall retain jurisdiction for subsequent adjustment of such amount to conform to the actual local aquifer characteristics from adequate information obtained from well drilling or test holes.

(d) (I) (A) and (B) Repealed.

(C) Effective July 1, 2006, any person desiring a permit for a well to withdraw groundwater for a beneficial use from the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers shall make application to the commission on a form to be prescribed by the commission. A fee of one hundred dollars shall be submitted with the application, which sum shall not be refunded.

(II) A well permit shall not be granted unless a determination of groundwater to be withdrawn by the well has been made pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (7).

(III) The application for a well permit shall also include a replacement plan if one is required under commission rules to replace any depletions to alluvial aquifers caused due to withdrawal of groundwater from the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, or Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers and the required plan has not been approved pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (7). The publication and hearing requirements of this section shall apply to an application for such a replacement plan.

(IV) The annual amount of withdrawal allowed in any well permits issued under this subsection (7) shall be less than or equal to the amount determined pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (7) and may, if so provided by any such determination, provide for the subsequent adjustment of such amount to conform to the actual aquifer characteristics encountered upon drilling of the well or test holes.

(8) The commission shall have the exclusive authority to issue or deny well permits under this section. The commission shall consider any recommendation by ground water management districts concerning well permit applications under this section.
C.R.S. § 37-31-141 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 31 / Section 37-31-141
37-31-141. Certification and levy of tax
Status: in_force

37-31-141. Certification and levy of tax. The board of directors of the Grand Valley drainage district shall, in accordance with the schedule prescribed by section 39-5-128, C.R.S., certify to the board of county commissioners a statement showing the aggregate amount which, in the judgment of said drainage board, is necessary to raise from the taxable property of said district to create a fund for any of the purposes of said district. It is the duty of the board of county commissioners to levy, at the same time that other taxes are levied, such rate as will produce the aggregate amount so certified.
C.R.S. § 37-85-107 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 85 / Section 37-85-107
37-85-107. False swearing
Status: in_force

37-85-107. False swearing. Every person who swears or affirms falsely in any matter is guilty of perjury in the second degree. Every person who testifies falsely after being duly sworn or having affirmed as a witness in any proceeding provided for in sections 37-85-103 to 37-85-106 is guilty of perjury in the first degree and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished accordingly.
C.R.S. § 37-43-146 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 43 / Part 1 / Section 37-43-146
37-43-146. Submission of question to electors
Status: in_force

37-43-146. Submission of question to electors. The board of directors at the same election, or at any future general or special election, may submit to the qualified voters of the district the question of whether the coupons upon such refunding bonds shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed six percent per annum after their maturity, if said coupons are not paid upon presentation. In such case the ballots shall contain the words, "Interest on coupons - Yes", and "Interest on coupons - No", or words equivalent thereto. The vote upon said question shall be canvassed at the same time and in the same manner as the vote for the issue of refunding bonds and, if a majority of the qualified electors of the district have voted "Interest on coupons - Yes", the board of directors shall certify the result and cause the same to be entered of record and filed the same as in the case of an election for refunding bonds. Thereafter, when any of said coupons are presented for payment on or after their due dates and there are insufficient funds on hand to pay said coupons, the county treasurer shall stamp on the back of said coupons, "Not paid for want of funds", and all coupons so stamped shall bear interest from that date until paid at the same rate as the principal of the bond.
C.R.S. § 37-41-146 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 41 / Section 37-41-146
37-41-146. Order
Status: in_force

37-41-146. Order. The board of directors, if it deems it not for the best interest of the district that the lands mentioned in the petition, or some portion thereof, should be excluded from said district, shall order that said petition be denied; but if it deems it for the best interest of the district that the lands mentioned in the petition, or some portion thereof, be excluded from the district and if there are no outstanding bonds of the district, then the board may order the lands mentioned in the petition, or some defined portion thereof, to be excluded from the district. However, if, within thirty days from the making of such order, a majority of the qualified electors of the district protest in writing to said board against the exclusion of such lands from said district, said order shall be held for naught, and such lands shall not be excluded therefrom. In case a contract has been made between the district and the United States, no change shall be made in the boundaries of the district unless the secretary of the interior shall assent thereto in writing and such assent is filed with the board of directors. Upon such assent, any lands excluded from the district shall be discharged from all liens in favor of the United States under contract with the United States or under bonds deposited with its agents.
C.R.S. § 37-92-309 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 92 / Part 3 / Section 37-92-309
37-92-309. Interruptible water supply agreements - special review procedures - rules - wate
Status: in_force

37-92-309. Interruptible water supply agreements - special review procedures - rules - water adjudication cash fund - legislative declaration - definitions. (1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that there are certain circumstances under which administrative approval of the use of interruptible water supply agreements can maximize the beneficial use of Colorado water resources without the need for an adjudication and without injury to vested water rights or decreed conditional water rights. This section is intended to enable water users to transfer the historical consumptive use of an absolute water right for application to another type or place of use on a temporary basis without permanently changing the water right.

(2) For purposes of this section:

(a) "Interruptible water supply agreement" means an option agreement between two or more water right owners whereby:

(I) The owner of the loaned water right agrees that, during the term of the agreement, it will stop its use of the loaned water right for a specified length of time if the option is exercised by the borrowing water right owner in accordance with the agreement; and

(II) The borrowing water right owner may divert the loaned water right for such owner's purposes, subject to the priority system and subject to temporary approval by the state engineer in accordance with this section.

(b) "Loaned water right" means any identified water right, or identified portion of a water right, specifically described in the interruptible water supply agreement.

(3) The state engineer is authorized to approve and administer interruptible water supply agreements that permit a temporary change in the point of diversion, location of use, and type of use of an absolute water right without the need for an adjudication pursuant to this article, subject to the following:

(a) The applicant for approval of an interruptible water supply agreement shall provide written notice of the application by first-class mail or electronic mail to all parties who have subscribed to the substitute water supply plan notification list, as described in section 37-92-308 (6), for the division or divisions in which the water right is located and in which it will be used, and proof of such notice shall be filed with the state engineer. The application shall be accompanied by a detailed written report, prepared by a professional engineer or other professional acceptable to the state engineer, that evaluates the historical consumptive use, return flows, and the potential for material injury to other water rights relating to the interruptible water supply agreement and that proposes conditions to prevent such injury. The state engineer shall give the owners of water rights thirty-five days after the date of mailing of such notice to file comments on the operation of the interruptible water supply agreement. Such comments shall include any claim of injury or any terms and conditions that should be imposed upon the agreement so that it will not cause injury to a party's water rights or decreed conditional water rights, if such conditional rights will be exercised during operation of the interruptible water supply agreement, and any other information the party wishes the state engineer to consider in reviewing the application.

(b) The state engineer, after consideration of the comments from any party submitting comments, shall make a determination of the operation and administration of the interruptible water supply agreement to assure that such operation and administration will effect only a temporary change in the historical consumptive use of the water right in a manner that will not cause injury to other water rights and decreed conditional water rights, if such conditional rights will be exercised during operation of the interruptible water supply agreement, and will not impair compliance with any interstate compact. The interruptible water supply agreement shall include, but shall not be limited to, a quantification of the historical consumptive use of the water right, an accurate description of the land where the water is decreed for use, and, if the loaned water right is being used for irrigation, a plan to prevent erosion and blowing soils and a description of compliance with local county noxious weed regulations and other land use provisions. The state engineer shall impose such terms and conditions as are necessary to ensure that these standards are met. In making the determinations specified in this paragraph (b), the state engineer shall not be required to hold any formal hearing or conduct any other formal proceedings, but may conduct a hearing or formal proceeding if the state engineer finds it necessary to address the issues.

(c) An interruptible water supply agreement approved pursuant to this section cannot be exercised for more than three years in a ten-year period, for which only a single approval is required. The ten-year period begins with the granting of the approval. A water right subject to the agreement under this section cannot use section 37-92-308 (5). The state engineer shall not approve an interruptible water supply agreement pursuant to this subsection (3) for another ten-year period, except:

(I) If the agreement has not been exercised during the term of the agreement, an applicant may reapply one time by repeating the application process pursuant to this subsection (3); and

(II) As specified in subsection (6) of this section.

(d) The applicant shall give notice by March 1 of any year that the option is to be exercised to all parties who filed comments with the state engineer pursuant to this section, unless earlier required in the agreement; except that the option may be exercised at any time during 2003.

(4) (a) When the state engineer approves or denies an interruptible water supply agreement, the state engineer shall serve a copy of the decision upon all parties to the application by electronic mail or, if a party has elected, by first-class mail. Neither the approval nor the denial of the agreement by the state engineer creates any presumptions, shifts the burden of proof, or serves as a defense in any legal action that may be initiated concerning the interruptible water supply agreement. Any appeal of a decision made by the state engineer concerning the operation of an interruptible water supply agreement pursuant to this section must be expedited, limited to the issue of injury, and made within thirty-five days after mailing of the decision to the water judge in the applicable water division. All parties to the appeal shall pay to the water clerk a fee to cover the direct costs associated with the expedited appeal. The water judge shall hear and determine the appeal using the procedures and standards set forth in sections 37-92-304 and 37-92-305 for determination of matters rereferred to the water judge by the referee; except that the water judge shall not deem any failure to appeal all or any part of the decision of the state engineer or failure to state any grounds for appeal to preclude any party from raising any claims of injury in a future proceeding before the water judge. The proponent of the interruptible water supply agreement is deemed to be the applicant for purposes of application of such procedures and standards. Moneys from the fee shall be transmitted to the state treasurer and deposited in the water adjudication cash fund, which fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The general assembly shall appropriate moneys in the fund for the judicial department's expedited adjudications pursuant to this section.

(b) A party to the original application may file comments concerning potential injury to such party's water rights or decreed conditional water rights due to the operation of the interruptible water supply agreement with the state engineer by January 1 of the year following the first year that the interruptible water supply agreement has been exercised. The procedures of subsection (3) of this section regarding notice, opportunity to comment, and the state engineer's decision, and the procedures of this subsection (4) regarding an appeal of such decision, shall again be followed with regard to such party's comments.

(5) Applicants for approval of an interruptible water supply agreement pursuant to this section shall pay a fee established by the state engineer, pursuant to rules promulgated by the state engineer. The state engineer shall collect the fees and transmit them to the state treasurer, who shall deposit them in the water resources cash fund created in section 37-80-111.7 (1).

(6) (a) (I) All of the substantive and procedural requirements of subsections (2) to (5) of this section apply to a subsequent approval of an interruptible water supply agreement except as specifically provided otherwise in this subsection (6).

(II) This subsection (6) applies only to a subsequent approval of an interruptible water supply agreement.

(b) A person may apply for no more than two subsequent approvals of the same interruptible water supply agreement.

(c) An applicant for subsequent approval of an interruptible water supply agreement must:

(I) Submit to the water clerk in each water division in which a loaned water right is located a resume of the application for approval of an interruptible water supply agreement submitted to the state engineer, and the water clerk shall publish the resumes in the manner set forth in section 37-92-302 (3)(a) and (3)(b), notwithstanding the fact that the applications were filed with the state engineer;

(II) File proof of the submission of the resume to the water clerk with the state engineer not later than ten days after the submission; and

(III) File proof of the notice to all parties who have subscribed to the substitute water supply plan notification list, as described in section 37-92-308 (6), with the state engineer within ten days after providing the notice.

(d) Owners of water rights have until the last day of the fourth month following the month in which the resume was submitted to the water clerk to file comments on the operation of the interruptible water supply agreement.

(e) The state engineer shall not approve an application for subsequent approval that would transfer or facilitate the transfer of water across the continental divide by direct diversion, exchange, or otherwise.

(f) The state engineer may approve a subsequent application for interruptible water supply agreement under this subsection (6) only:

(I) After making a determination of the operation and administration of the interruptible water supply agreement to assure that such operation and administration will not permit a borrowing water right user to rely on the exercise of multiple interruptible water supply agreements as its primary source of supply;

(II) If the terms and conditions imposed pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of this section are no less restrictive than those imposed upon previously approved applications;

(III) If the agreement does not include a loaned water right that has already been approved as a loaned water right in a separate, unexpired interruptible water supply agreement; and

(IV) If the loaned water right subject to the agreement is not subject to more than two subsequent approvals regardless of the applicant, and any such subsequent approval cannot take effect until after any prior ten-year approval period has expired.

(g) The state engineer's approval or disapproval of a subsequent application for an interruptible water supply agreement under this subsection (6) constitutes final agency action subject to appeal in the water court in the water division in which the loaned water rights are located.

(h) The water judge shall expedite an appeal of the state engineer's decision only upon the request of any party to the appeal.

(i) For purposes of determining filing fees, the applicant or commenter that initiates the appeal shall pay fees established for water court change applicants, and all others shall pay fees established for persons filing statements of opposition.
C.R.S. § 37-31-106 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 31 / Section 37-31-106
37-31-106. Nomination of directors
Status: in_force

37-31-106. Nomination of directors. Nominations for membership on said board shall be made by petitions signed by not less than twenty-five qualified electors. Said petitions shall be signed and the residence address of the signers affixed thereon, and the petitions shall be sworn to in the same manner as provided by law for petitions for nominations for state and county officers. Said petitions shall be filed at least twenty days before the election with the secretary of the board, and a list of the nominees so selected shall be published by the board with its election notice.
C.R.S. § 37-87-113 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 87 / Section 37-87-113
37-87-113. Breakage of reservoir - damages
Status: repealed

37-87-113. Breakage of reservoir - damages. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-69-103 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 69 / Section 37-69-103
37-69-103. Interstate agency created by compact
Status: in_force

37-69-103. Interstate agency created by compact. It is hereby recognized, found, determined, and declared that the compact creates an interstate agency which is known as the Arkansas river compact administration and which is an independent entity whose members and employees are not officers and employees of either of the states signatory to the compact.
C.R.S. § 37-82-106 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 82 / Section 37-82-106
37-82-106. Right to reuse of imported water
Status: in_force

37-82-106. Right to reuse of imported water. (1) Whenever an appropriator has lawfully introduced foreign water into a stream system from an unconnected stream system, such appropriator may make a succession of uses of such water by exchange or otherwise to the extent that its volume can be distinguished from the volume of the streams into which it is introduced. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair or diminish any water right which has become vested.

(2) To the extent that there exists a right to make a succession of uses of foreign, nontributary, or other developed water, such right is personal to the developer or his successors, lessees, contractees, or assigns. Such water, when released from the dominion of the user, becomes a part of the natural surface stream where released, subject to water rights on such stream in the order of their priority, but nothing in this subsection (2) shall affect the rights of the developer or his successors or assigns with respect to such foreign, nontributary, or developed water, nor shall dominion over such water be lost to the owner or user thereof by reason of use of a natural watercourse in the process of carrying such water to the place of its use or successive use.
C.R.S. § 37-42-130 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 42 / Section 37-42-130
37-42-130. Call of bonds - surplus fund
Status: in_force

37-42-130. Call of bonds - surplus fund. If bonds are issued which are subject to redemption prior to maturity, and if, after the payment of all coupons and bonds due in any fiscal year, it is found that the bond fund of an irrigation district contains an amount of money sufficient therefor, it is the duty of the district treasurer to call such bonds as first become due and payable and to retire such indebtedness. Call shall be made by registered mail, addressed to the holder of such bonds so called at his address of record, giving the number of the bonds called, and notifying the holder thereof, that upon presentation of such bonds with all future due coupons attached, they shall be redeemed at their face value, with interest to date of call. When any bond has been so called, such fact shall be noted upon the bond register of the district treasurer, and money in the amount of its face, with interest to date of call, shall be set aside for its payment from the bond fund, and no coupons upon such bond maturing at a date later than the date of such call shall be paid. If money remains in or is paid into the bond fund after final liquidation of all bonded indebtedness, such money shall be transferred to the general fund by the treasurer of the district.
C.R.S. § 37-60-121.1 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 60 / Part 1 / Section 37-60-121.1
37-60-121.1. Reserved rights litigation fund
Status: repealed

37-60-121.1. Reserved rights litigation fund. (1) The general assembly hereby recognizes that the claims of various agencies and organizations of the federal government to waters of the state of Colorado represent a claim to waters heretofore claimed by appropriators of the state of Colorado who have relied on the doctrine of prior appropriation to protect their property rights in and to those waters lawfully appropriated or acquired. The general assembly recognizes the need to take all actions necessary to protect such valuable property rights of its citizens, including the establishment of the fund as set forth in this section.

(2) (a) There is hereby established a reserved rights litigation fund in the office of the state treasurer to be utilized by the department of law for resolution of reserved rights claims. Moneys credited to said fund shall be expended by the attorney general only upon authorization by the general assembly and consistent with the provisions of this section. The controller, upon presentation of vouchers properly drawn and signed by the attorney general or an authorized employee of the department of law, shall issue warrants drawn on said fund. All moneys so deposited in the reserved rights litigation fund shall remain in said fund to be used for the purposes set forth in this section and shall not revert to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund, the general fund, or any other fund at the end of the year, except as directed by the general assembly. All interest earned from the investment of moneys in the reserved rights litigation fund shall be credited to and become a part of the Colorado water conservation board construction fund created by section 37-60-121.

(b) Repealed.
C.R.S. § 37-66-101 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 66 / Section 37-66-101
37-66-101. Rio Grande River compact
Status: in_force

37-66-101. Rio Grande River compact. The general assembly hereby approves the compact between the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, designated as the "Rio Grande compact", signed at the city of Santa Fe, state of New Mexico, on the 18th day of March, A. D. 1938, by M. C. Hinderlider, commissioner for the state of Colorado; Thomas M. McClure, commissioner for the state of New Mexico; Frank B. Clayton, commissioner for the state of Texas, and approved by S. O. Harper, representative of the President of the United States, which said compact is as follows:

Rio Grande Compact

The state of Colorado, the state of New Mexico, and the state of Texas, desiring to remove all causes of present and future controversy among these states and between citizens of one of these states and citizens of another state with respect to the use of the waters of the Rio Grande above Fort Quitman, Texas, and being moved by considerations of interstate comity, and for the purpose of effecting an equitable apportionment of such waters, have resolved to conclude a compact for the attainment of these purposes, and to that end, through their respective governors, have named as their respective commissioners:

For the state of Colorado--M. C. Hinderlider

For the state of New Mexico--Thomas M. McClure

For the state of Texas--Frank B. Clayton

who, after negotiations participated in by S. O. Harper, appointed by the President as the representative of the United States of America, have agreed upon the following articles, to-wit:

Article I

(a) The state of Colorado, the state of New Mexico, the state of Texas, and the United States of America, are hereinafter designated "Colorado," "New Mexico," "Texas," and the "United States," respectively.

(b) "The commission" means the agency created by this compact for the administration thereof.

(c) The term "Rio Grande basin" means all of the territory drained by the Rio Grande and its tributaries in Colorado, in New Mexico, and in Texas above Fort Quitman, including the closed basin in Colorado.

(d) The "closed basin" means that part of the Rio Grande basin in Colorado where the streams drain into the San Luis lakes and adjacent territory, and do not normally contribute to the flow of the Rio Grande.

(e) The term "tributary" means any stream which naturally contributes to the flow of the Rio Grande.

(f) "Transmountain diversion" is water imported into the drainage basin of the Rio Grande from any stream system outside of the Rio Grande basin, exclusive of the closed basin.

(g) "Annual debits" are the amounts by which actual deliveries in any calendar year fall below scheduled deliveries.

(h) "Annual credits" are the amounts by which actual deliveries in any calendar year exceed scheduled deliveries.

(i) "Accrued debits" are the amounts by which the sum of all annual debits exceeds the sum of all annual credits over any common period of time.

(j) "Accrued credits" are the amounts by which the sum of all annual credits exceeds the sum of all annual debits over any common period of time.

(k) "Project storage" is the combined capacity of Elephant Butte reservoir and all other reservoirs actually available for the storage of usable water below Elephant Butte and above the first diversion to lands of the Rio Grande project, but not more than a total of 2,638,860 acre- feet.

(l) "Usable water" is all water, exclusive of credit water, which is in project storage and which is available for release in accordance with irrigation demands, including deliveries to Mexico.

(m) "Credit water" is that amount of water in project storage which is equal to the accrued credit of Colorado, or New Mexico, or both.

(n) "Unfilled capacity" is the difference between the total physical capacity of project storage and the amount of usable water then in storage.

(o) "Actual release" is the amount of usable water released in any calendar year from the lowest reservoir comprising project storage.

(p) "Actual spill" is all water which is actually spilled from Elephant Butte reservoir, or is released therefrom for flood control, in excess of the current demand on project storage and which does not become usable water by storage in another reservoir; provided, that actual spill of usable water cannot occur until all credit water shall have been spilled.

(q) "Hypothetical spill" is the time in any year at which usable water would have spilled from project storage if 790,000 acre-feet had been released therefrom at rates proportional to the actual release in every year from the starting date to the end of the year in which hypothetical spill occurs, in computing hypothetical spill the initial condition shall be the amount of usable water in project storage at the beginning of the calendar year following the effective date of this compact, and thereafter the initial condition shall be the amount of usable water in project storage at the beginning of the calendar year following each actual spill.

Article II

The commission shall cause to be maintained and operated a stream gauging station equipped with an automatic water stage recorder at each of the following points, to-wit:

(a) On the Rio Grande near Del Norte above the principal points of diversion to the San Luis valley;

(b) On the Conejos river near Mogote;

(c) On the Los Pinos river near Ortiz;

(d) On the San Antonio river at Ortiz;

(e) On the Conejos river at its mouths near Los Sauces;

(f) On the Rio Grande near Lobatos;

(g) On the Rio Chama below El Vado reservoir;

(h) On the Rio Grande at Otowi bridge near San Ildefonso;

(i) On the Rio Grande near San Acacia;

(j) On the Rio Grande at San Marcial;

(k) On the Rio Grande below Elephant Butte reservoir;

(l) On the Rio Grande below Caballo reservoir.

Similar gauging stations shall be maintained and operated below any other reservoir constructed after 1929, and at such other points as may be necessary for the securing of records required for the carrying out of the compact; and automatic water stage recorders shall be maintained and operated on each of the reservoirs mentioned, and on all others constructed after 1929.

Such gauging stations shall be equipped, maintained and operated by the commission directly or in co-operation with an appropriate federal or state agency, and the equipment, method and frequency of measurement at such stations shall be such as to produce reliable records at all times.

Article III

The obligation of Colorado to deliver water in the Rio Grande at the Colorado-New Mexico state line, measured at or near Lobatos, in each calendar year, shall be ten thousand acre-feet less than the sum of those quantities set forth in the two following tabulations of relationship, which correspond to the quantities at the upper index stations:

Discharge of Conejos River

Quantities in thousands of acre-feet

Conejos Index Supply (1) Conejos River at Mouths (2)

100 0

150 20

200 45

250 75

300 109

350 147

400 188

450 232

500 278

550 326

600 376

650 426

700 476

Intermediate quantities shall be computed by proportional parts.

(1) Conejos index supply is the natural flow Conejos river at the U. S. G. S. gauging station near Mogote during the calendar year, plus the natural flow of Los Pinos river at the U. S. G. S. gauging station near Ortiz and the natural flow of San Antonio river at the U. S. G. S. gauging station at Ortiz, both during the months of April to October, inclusive.

(2) Conejos river at mouths is the combined discharge of branches of this river at the U. S. G. S. gauging stations near Los Sauces during the calendar year.

Discharge of Rio Grande Exclusive of Conejos River

Quantities in thousands of acre-feet

Rio Grande at Lobatos less

Rio Grande at Del Norte (3) Conejos at Mouths (4)

200 60

250 65

300 75

350 86

400 98

450 112

500 127

550 144

600 162

650 182

700 204

750 229

800 257

850 292

900 335

950 380

1,000 430

1,100 540

1,200 640

1,300 740

1,400 840

Intermediate quantities shall be computed by proportional parts.

(3) Rio Grande at Del Norte is the recorded flow of the Rio Grande at the U. S. G. S. gauging station near Del Norte during the calendar year (measured above all principal points of diversion to San Luis Valley) corrected for the operation of reservoirs constructed after 1937.

(4) Rio Grande at Lobatos less Conejos at mouths is the total flow of the Rio Grande at the U. S. G. S. gauging station near Lobatos, less the discharge of Conejos river at its mouths, during the calendar year.

The application of these schedules shall be subject to the provisions hereinafter set forth and appropriate adjustments shall be made for (a) any change in location of gauging stations; (b) any new or increased depletion of the runoff above inflow index gauging stations; and (c) any transmountain diversions into the drainage basin of the Rio Grande above Lobatos.

In event any works are constructed after 1937 for the purpose of delivering water into the Rio Grande from the closed basin, Colorado shall not be credited with the amount of such water delivered, unless the proportion of sodium ions shall be less than forty-five per cent of the total positive ions in that water when the total dissolved solids in such water exceeds three hundred fifty parts per million.

Article IV

The obligation of New Mexico to deliver water in the Rio Grande at San Marcial, during each calendar year, exclusive of the months of July, August and September, shall be that quantity set forth in the following tabulation of relationship, which corresponds to the quantity at the upper index station:

Discharge of Rio Grande at Otowi Bridge

And at San Marcial Exclusive of July,

August and September

Quantities in thousands of acre-feet

Otowi Index Supply (5) San Marcial Index Supply (6)

100 0

200 65

300 141

400 219

500 300

600 383

700 469

800 557

900 648

1000 742

1100 839

1200 939

1300 1042

1400 1148

1500 1257

1600 1370

1700 1489

1800 1608

1900 1730

2000 1856

2100 1985

2200 2117

2300 2253

Intermediate quantities shall be computed by proportional parts.

(5) The Otowi index supply is the recorded flow of the Rio Grande at the U. S. G. S. gauging station at Otowi Bridge near San Ildefonso (formerly station near Buckman) during the calendar year, exclusive of the flow during the months of July, August and September, corrected for the operation of reservoirs constructed after 1929 in the drainage basin of the Rio Grande between Lobatos and Otowi Bridge.

(6) San Marcial index supply is the recorded flow of the Rio Grande at the gauging station at San Marcial during the calendar year exclusive of the flow during the months of July, August and September.

The application of this schedule shall be subject to the provisions hereinafter set forth and appropriate adjustments shall be made for (a) any change in location of gauging stations; (b) depletion after 1929 in New Mexico at any time of the year of the natural runoff at Otowi Bridge; (c) depletion of the runoff during July, August and September of tributaries between Otowi Bridge and San Marcial, by works constructed after 1937; and (d) any transmountain diversions into the Rio Grande between Lobatos and San Marcial.

Concurrent records shall be kept of the flow of the Rio Grande at San Marcial, near San Acacia, and of the release from Elephant Butte reservoir, to the end that the records at these three stations may be correlated.

Article V

If at any time it should be the unanimous finding and determination of the commission that because of changed physical conditions, or for any other reason, reliable records are not obtainable, or cannot be obtained, at any of the stream gauging stations herein referred to, such stations may, with the unanimous approval of the Commission, be abandoned, and with such approval another station, or other stations, shall be established and new measurements shall be substituted which, in the unanimous opinion of the commission, will result in substantially the same results, so far as the rights and obligations to deliver water are concerned, as would have existed if such substitution of stations and measurements had not been so made.

Article VI

Commencing with the year following the effective date of this compact, all credits and debits of Colorado and New Mexico shall be computed for each calendar year; provided, that in a year of actual spill no annual credits nor annual debits shall be computed for that year.

In the case of Colorado, no annual debit nor accrued debit shall exceed 100,000 acre-feet, except as either or both may be caused by holdover storage of water in reservoirs constructed after 1937 in the drainage basin of the Rio Grande above Lobatos. Within the physical limitations of storage capacity in such reservoirs, Colorado shall retain water in storage at all times to the extent of its accrued debit.

In the case of New Mexico, the accrued debit shall not exceed 200,000 acre-feet at any time, except as such debit may be caused by holdover storage of water in reservoirs constructed after 1929 in the drainage basin of the Rio Grande between Lobatos and San Marcial. Within the physical limitations of storage capacity in such reservoirs, New Mexico shall retain water in storage at all times to the extent of its accrued debit. In computing the magnitude of accrued credits or debits, New Mexico shall not be charged with any greater debt in any one year than the sum of 150,000 acre-feet and all gains in the quantity of water in storage in such year.

The commission by unanimous action may authorize the release from storage of any amount of water which is then being held in storage by reason of accrued debits of Colorado or New Mexico; provided, that such water shall be replaced at the first opportunity thereafter.

In computing the amount of accrued credits and accrued debits of Colorado or New Mexico, any annual credits in excess of 150,000 acre-feet shall be taken as equal to that amount.

In any year in which actual spill occurs, the accrued credits of Colorado, or New Mexico, or both, at the beginning of the year shall be reduced in proportion to their respective credits by the amount of such actual spill; provided, that the amount of actual spill shall be deemed to be increased by the aggregate gain in the amount of water in storage, prior to the time of spill, in reservoirs above San Marcial constructed after 1929; provided, further, that if the commissioners for the states having accrued credits authorized the release of part, or all, of such credits in advance of spill, the amount so released shall be deemed to constitute actual spill.

In any year in which there is actual spill of usable water, or at the time of hypothetical spill thereof, all accrued debits of Colorado, or New Mexico, or both, at the beginning of the year shall be cancelled.

In any year in which the aggregate of accrued debits of Colorado and New Mexico exceeds the minimum unfilled capacity of project storage, such debits shall be reduced proportionally to an aggregate amount equal to such minimum unfilled capacity.

To the extent that accrued credits are impounded in reservoirs between San Marcial and Courchesne, and to the extent that accrued debits are impounded in reservoirs above San Marcial, such credits and debits shall be reduced annually to compensate for evaporation losses in the proportion that such credits or debits bore to the total amount of water in such reservoirs during the year.

Article VII

Neither Colorado nor New Mexico shall increase the amount of water in storage in reservoirs constructed after 1929 whenever there is less than 400,000 acre-feet of usable water in project storage; provided, that if the actual releases of usable water from the beginning of the calendar year following the effective date of this compact, or from the beginning of the calendar year following actual spill, have aggregated more than an average of 790,000 acre-feet per annum, the time at which such minimum stage is reached shall be adjusted to compensate for the difference between the total actual release and releases at such average rate; provided, further, that Colorado or New Mexico, or both, may relinquish accrued credits at any time, and Texas may accept such relinquished water, and in such event the state, or states, so relinquishing shall be entitled to store water in the amount of the water so relinquished.

Article VIII

During the month of January of any year the commissioner for Texas may demand of Colorado and New Mexico, and the commissioner for New Mexico may demand of Colorado, the release of water from storage reservoirs constructed after 1929 to the amount of the accrued debits of Colorado and New Mexico, respectively, and such releases shall be made by each at the greatest rate practicable under the conditions then prevailing, and in proportion to the total debit of each, and in amounts, limited by their accrued debits, sufficient to bring the quantity of usable water in project storage to 600,000 acre-feet by March first and to maintain this quantity in storage until April thirtieth, to the end that a normal release of 790,000 acre-feet may be made from project storage in that year.

Article IX

Colorado agrees with New Mexico that in event the United States or the state of New Mexico decides to construct the necessary works for diverting the waters of the San Juan river, or any of its tributaries, into the Rio Grande, Colorado hereby consents to the construction of said works and the diversion of waters from the San Juan river, or the tributaries thereof, into the Rio Grande in New Mexico, provided the present and prospective uses of water in Colorado by other diversions from the San Juan river, or its tributaries are protected.

Article X

In the event water from another drainage basin shall be imported into the Rio Grande basin by the United States or Colorado or New Mexico, or any of them jointly, the state having the right to the use of such water shall be given proper credit therefor in the application of the schedules.

Article XI

New Mexico and Texas agree that upon the effective date of this compact all controversies between said states relative to the quantity or quality of the water of the Rio Grande are composed and settled; however, nothing herein shall be interpreted to prevent recourse by a signatory state to the supreme court of the United States for redress should the character or quality of the water, at the point of delivery, be changed hereafter by one signatory state to the injury of another. Nothing herein shall be construed as an admission by any signatory state that the use of water for irrigation causes increase of salinity for which the user is responsible in law.

Article XII

To administer the provisions of this compact there shall be constituted a commission composed of one representative from each state, to be known as the Rio Grande compact commission. The state engineer of Colorado shall be ex officio the Rio Grande compact commissioner for Colorado. The state engineer of New Mexico shall be ex officio the Rio Grande compact commissioner for New Mexico. The Rio Grande compact commissioner for Texas shall be appointed by the governor of Texas. The President of the United States shall be requested to designate a representative of the United States to sit with such commission, and such representative of the United States, if so designated by the President, shall act as chairman of the commission without vote.

The salaries and personal expenses of the Rio Grande compact commissioners for the three states shall be paid by their respective states, and all other expenses incident to the administration of this compact, not borne by the United States, shall be borne equally by the three states.

In addition to the powers and duties hereinbefore specifically conferred upon such commission, and the members thereof, the jurisdiction of such commission shall extend only to the collection, correlation and presentation of factual data and the maintenance of records having a bearing upon the administration of this compact, and, by unanimous action, to the making of recommendations to the respective states upon matters connected with the administration of this compact. In connection therewith, the commission may employ such engineering and clerical aid as may be reasonably necessary within the limit of funds provided for that purpose by the respective states. Annual reports compiled for each calendar year shall be made by the commission and transmitted to the governors of the signatory states on or before March first following the year covered by the report. The commission may, by unanimous action, adopt rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this compact to govern their proceedings.

The findings of the Commission shall not be conclusive in any court or tribunal which may be called upon to interpret or enforce this compact.

Article XIII

At the expiration of every five year period after the effective date of this compact, the commission may, by unanimous consent, review any provisions hereof which are not substantive in character and which do not affect the basic principles upon which the compact is founded, and shall meet for the consideration of such questions on the request of any member of the commission; provided, however, that the provisions hereof shall remain in full force and effect until changed and amended within the intent of the compact by unanimous action of the commissioners, and until any changes in this compact are ratified by the legislatures of the respective states and consented to by the congress, in the same manner as this compact is required to be ratified to become effective.

Article XIV

The schedules herein contained and the quantities of water herein allocated shall never be increased nor diminished by reason of any increase or diminution in the delivery or loss of water to Mexico.

Article XV

The physical and other conditions characteristic of the Rio Grande and peculiar to the territory drained and served thereby, and to the development thereof, have actuated this compact and none of the signatory states admits that any provisions herein contained establishes any general principle or precedent applicable to other interstate streams.

Article XVI

Nothing in this compact shall be construed as affecting the obligations of the United States of America to Mexico under existing treaties, or to the Indian tribes, or as impairing the rights of the Indian tribes.

Article XVII

This compact shall become effective when ratified by the legislatures of each of the signatory states and consented to by the congress of the United States. Notice of ratification shall be given by the governor of each state to the governors of the other states and to the President of the United States, and the President of the United States is requested to give notice to the governors of each of the signatory states of the consent of the congress of the United States.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the commissioners have signed this compact in quadruplicate original, one of which shall be deposited in the archives of the Department of State of the United States of America and shall be deemed the authoritative original, and of which a duly certified copy shall be forwarded to the governor of each of the signatory states.

Done at the city of Santa Fe, in the state of New Mexico, on the 18th day of March, in the year of our Lord, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Thirty-eight.

(Sgd.) M. C. Hinderlider

(Sgd.) Thomas M. McClure

(Sgd.) Frank B. Clayton

APPROVED:

(Sgd.) S. O. Harper.
C.R.S. § 37-45-108 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 45 / Section 37-45-108
37-45-108. Jurisdiction of district courts
Status: in_force

37-45-108. Jurisdiction of district courts. The district court sitting in and for any county in this state is hereby vested with jurisdiction when the conditions stated in section 37-45-109 are found to exist to establish water conservancy districts which may be entirely within or partly within and partly without the judicial district in which said court is located for conserving, developing, and stabilizing supplies of water for domestic, irrigation, power, manufacturing, and other beneficial uses as provided in this article; but the terms of this article shall not be construed to confer upon such district court jurisdiction to hear, adjudicate, and settle questions concerning the priority of appropriation of water between districts organized under this article and ditch companies and other owners of ditches drawing water for irrigation purposes from the same stream or its tributaries, and jurisdiction to hear and determine such questions of law and questions of right growing out of or in any way involved or connected therewith are expressly excluded from this article and shall be determined in the proper county as otherwise provided by the laws of the state of Colorado.
C.R.S. § 37-50-116 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 50 / Section 37-50-116
37-50-116. Assessments perpetual lien
Status: in_force

37-50-116. Assessments perpetual lien. All assessments on account of special improvements against appraised benefits and interest thereon and penalties for default of payment thereof, together with the cost of collecting the same, from the date of the filing of the construction fund and the assessment record in the office of the treasurer of the county in which the lands and property are situated, shall constitute a perpetual lien in an amount not in excess of the benefits severally appraised upon the land and other property against which assessments have been levied and such benefits appraised. No sale of the property to enforce any general state, county, city, town, or school tax or other lien shall extinguish the perpetual lien of the assessment. At any time, a landowner may pay the full amount of the assessment, and thereafter the property of the landowner shall be clear and free from lien and shall not be subject to assessment for and on account of benefits appraised against any other land or default in the payment of assessments made against any other land.
C.R.S. § 37-92-602 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 92 / Part 6 / Section 37-92-602
37-92-602. Exemptions - presumptions - stream restoration projects - report - legislative d
Status: repealed

37-92-602. Exemptions - presumptions - stream restoration projects - report - legislative declaration - definitions. (1) This article, except for sections 37-92-201 and 37-92-202, does not apply to:

(a) Designated groundwater basins as defined and established by article 90 of this title;

(b) Wells not exceeding fifteen gallons per minute of production and used for ordinary household purposes, fire protection, the watering of poultry, domestic animals, and livestock on farms and ranches and for the irrigation of not over one acre of home gardens and lawns but not used for more than three single-family dwellings;

(c) Wells not exceeding fifteen gallons per minute of production and used for drinking and sanitary facilities in individual commercial businesses;

(d) Wells to be used exclusively for fire-fighting purposes if said wells are capped, locked, and available for use only in fighting fires;

(e) Wells not exceeding fifty gallons per minute that are in production as of May 22, 1971, and were and are used for ordinary household purposes for not more than three single-family dwellings, fire protection, the watering of poultry, domestic animals, and livestock on farms and ranches, and for the irrigation of not over one acre of gardens and lawns;

(f) Wells to be used exclusively for monitoring and observation purposes if said wells are capped and locked and used only to monitor water levels or for water quality sampling; and

(g) (I) Any system or method of collecting precipitation from the roof of a building that is used primarily as a residence and is not served by, whether or not connected to, a domestic water system that serves more than three single-family dwellings, but only if the use of the water thus collected is limited to one or more of the following:

(A) Ordinary household purposes;

(B) Fire protection;

(C) The watering of poultry, domestic animals, and livestock on farms and ranches; or

(D) The irrigation of not more than one acre of gardens and lawns.

(II) As used in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (g), "a building that is used primarily as a residence" may include, but is not limited to, any structure used for habitation, regardless of whether the structure is operated commercially or inhabited intermittently.

(III) On and after July 1, 2009, any person wishing to use a system or method of rooftop precipitation capture that qualifies as exempt under subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (g) shall comply with one of the following provisions of sub-subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of this subparagraph (III):

(A) A person who has a well permit issued or recorded pursuant to this section and who intends to use a system or method of rooftop precipitation capture that qualifies as exempt under subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (g) shall file, on a form prescribed by the state engineer and consistent with this section, a notice and description of the system or method of rooftop precipitation capture to be used in conjunction with the well. No fee shall be charged for the filing of this form.

(B) A person who applies for a new well permit pursuant to this section and who intends to use a system or method of rooftop precipitation capture that qualifies as exempt under subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (g) shall include on the well permit application a description of the system or method of rooftop precipitation capture to be used in conjunction with the well. An applicant under this sub-subparagraph (B) shall pay the well permit application fee pursuant to subparagraph (II) of paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of this section; however, such applicant shall not be required to pay any additional application fee for the rooftop precipitation collection system.

(C) A person who does not intend to construct and use a well, but would otherwise be entitled to the issuance of a well permit pursuant to this section, including the provisions of subsection (6) of this section, shall submit an application in the form and manner designated by the state engineer for a permit to install and use a system or method of rooftop precipitation capture and pay a fee in an amount to be determined by the state engineer. If the state engineer determines that the proposed system or method of rooftop precipitation capture meets the requirements of this paragraph (g), the state engineer shall issue a permit for the system or method, but not otherwise. The state engineer shall enforce the provisions of the permit in the same manner as the enforcement of any well permit issued under this section.

(IV) A person using or legally entitled to use a well pursuant to this section, including the provisions of subsection (6) of this section, shall be allowed to collect rooftop precipitation pursuant to this paragraph (g) only for use by the same dwellings that are or would be served by the well and subject to all of the limitations on use contained in the well permit or, in the absence of a well permit, the well permit to which the person would be legally entitled, as determined by the state engineer.

(V) (A) The state engineer or the division engineers may issue, to the users of methods or systems of rooftop precipitation collection, orders necessary to implement the provisions of this paragraph (g). If such orders are given orally, they shall be confirmed promptly in writing.

(B) In the event that an order of a division engineer or the state engineer issued pursuant to sub-subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (V) is not complied with, the state engineer, in the name of the people of the state of Colorado, through the attorney general, shall apply to the water judge of the particular division for an injunction enjoining the person from committing the violation. In such proceeding, if the court upholds the order of the state engineer, the person against whom such order was issued shall pay the costs of the proceeding, including reasonable attorney fees.

(C) Any person who violates an order issued by the state engineer pursuant to sub-subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (V) shall forfeit and pay a sum not to exceed five hundred dollars for each violation. Any fine collected for violations of this paragraph (g) shall be transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the water resources cash fund created in section 37-80-111.7 (1).

(1.5) A person withdrawing water from a well pursuant to this section may use graywater through use of a graywater treatment works, as those terms are defined in section 25-8-103 (8.3) and (8.4), C.R.S., in compliance with the requirements of section 25-8-205 (1)(g), C.R.S. Any limitations on use set forth in the well permit apply to the use of graywater.

(2) With respect to applications filed prior to May 8, 1972, the state engineer shall issue a permit for the construction of wells specified in subsection (1) of this section without regard to the provisions of section 37-90-137 (2) and (3) upon submission of an application which shall be accompanied by a fee of five dollars. It is the legislative intent that the exemption in subsection (1) of this section is for an applicant to obtain a water supply for his own use.

(3) (a) (I) Repealed.

(II) Effective July 1, 2006, wells of the type described in paragraphs (b) to (d) of subsection (1) of this section may be constructed only upon the issuance of a permit in accordance with the provisions of this subsection (3). A person desiring to use such a well shall submit an application for a permit accompanied by a fee of sixty dollars for an application under paragraph (c) of this subsection (3) and a fee of one hundred dollars for an application under paragraph (b) of this subsection (3).

(b) (I) With respect to applications filed on and after May 8, 1972, the state engineer shall first make a determination as to whether or not the exercise of the requested permit will materially injure the vested water rights of others or any other existing well, subject to the provisions of subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (b). If the state engineer finds that the vested water rights of others or any other existing well will be materially injured, he shall deny the permit. Otherwise, the permit shall be issued, and it shall set forth such conditions for drilling, casing, equipping, and using the well as are reasonably necessary to prevent waste, pollution, or material injury to existing rights. The state engineer shall endorse upon the application the date of its receipt, file and preserve such application, and make a record of such receipt and the issuance of the permit in his office, so indexed as to be useful in determining the extent of the uses made from various groundwater sources.

(II) (A) If a permit is sought by a user for a well exempted under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section which will be the only well on a residential site, which well will be used solely for ordinary household purposes inside a single-family dwelling and will not be used for irrigation or will be the only well on a tract of land of thirty-five acres or more or will be the only well on a cluster development lot, serving one single-family residence, where the ratio of water usage in the cluster development does not exceed one acre-foot of annual withdrawals for each thirty-five acres within the cluster development and will be used solely for the purposes specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, and the return flow from such uses shall be returned to the same stream system in which the well is located, there shall be a presumption that there will not be material injury to the vested water rights of others or to any other existing well resulting from such well, which presumption may be rebutted by evidence sufficient to show such material injury.

(B) and (C) (Deleted by amendment, L. 93, p. 2100, § 1, effective July 1, 1993.)

(D) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the state engineer from requiring metering of withdrawals, periodic reporting of such withdrawals, and cessation of withdrawals that exceed one acre-foot of water for each thirty-five acres within a cluster development.

(III) Except as specified in subsection (3)(b)(IV) of this section, if the application is for a well, as defined in subsection (3)(b)(II) of this section, which will be located in a subdivision, as defined in section 30-28-101 (10), and approved on or after June 1, 1972, pursuant to article 28 of title 30, for which the water supply plan has not been recommended for approval by the state engineer, the cumulative effect of all such wells in the subdivision shall be considered in determining material injury.

(IV) If an existing well was permitted under the presumption set forth in subsection (3)(b)(II)(A) of this section, the presumption is not lost if:

(A) The land on which the well is located is divided into multiple parcels;

(B) The well is used on only a single parcel of the divided land and remains the only well serving that parcel;

(C) With respect to the parcel of the land that the well still serves, the permit holder continues to use the well in accordance with subsections (1)(b) and (3)(b)(II)(A) of this section; and

(D) The permit holder provides return flows in accordance with subsection (3)(b)(II)(A) of this section.

(c) (I) If any person wishes to relocate an existing well of the type specified in paragraphs (b) to (e) of subsection (1) of this section, such person shall file an application pursuant to this subsection (3) for the construction of a well and shall state in such application such person's intent to abandon the existing well which is to be relocated.

(II) (A) If such relocated well will not change substantially the usage of water which can lawfully be made by means of the existing well, a permit to construct and use the relocated well shall be issued, and the existing well shall be abandoned within ninety-one days after the completion of the relocated well.

(B) For purposes of this subparagraph (II), absent a showing by a preponderance of the evidence, a relocated well will be presumed not to change substantially the usage of water if the existing well was constructed pursuant to a permit issued by the state engineer, the location of the relocated well will be within two hundred feet of the existing well, the well will be constructed into the same aquifer, the historical use of water from the well will not change, the annual volume of use of the relocated well will be the same as or less than the annual permitted volume of use of the existing well, and the gallons per minute flow of the relocated well will be the same as or less than the permitted gallons per minute flow of the existing well.

(d) (I) Repealed.

(II) Effective July 1, 2006, wells for which permits have been granted or may be granted shall be constructed within two years after the permit is issued, which time may be extended for successive years at the discretion of the state engineer for good cause shown.

(e) The state engineer shall act upon an application filed under this subsection (3) within forty-nine days after such filing and shall support his or her ruling with a written statement of the basis therefor, and the provisions of article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., shall apply.

(f) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the state engineer granting or denying an application filed under this subsection (3) may within thirty-five days after such decision file a petition for review with the water clerk of the water division in which the well is located. Upon receipt of such petition, the water judge of said water division shall promptly conduct such hearings as are necessary to determine whether or not the decision of the state engineer shall be upheld. In any case in which the state engineer's decision is reversed, the water judge shall order the state engineer to grant or to deny the application, as such reversal may require, and may specify such terms and conditions as are appropriate. Appeals from any decision of the water judge shall be made as in other civil actions.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of the introductory portion of subsection (1) of this section, water rights for wells of the type specified in paragraphs (b) to (e) of said subsection (1) may be determined pursuant to sections 37-92-302 to 37-92-306; except that the original priority date of any such well may be awarded regardless of the date of application therefor.

(5) (a) Repealed.

(b) Effective July 1, 2006, any wells exempted by this section that were put to beneficial use prior to May 8, 1972, and any wells that were used exclusively for monitoring and observation purposes prior to August 1, 1988, not of record in the office of the state engineer may be recorded in that office upon written application, payment of a processing fee of one hundred dollars, and permit approval. The record shall include the date the water is claimed to have been appropriated or first put to beneficial use.

(6) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state of Colorado that the exemptions set forth in this section are intended to allow citizens to obtain a water supply in less densely populated areas for in-house and domestic animal uses where other water supplies are not available. It is not the intent that these wells be used to cause material injury to prior vested water rights, and, wherever possible, persons seeking the use of such individual wells may be required to develop plans for augmentation pursuant to section 37-92-302 or to develop other replacement plans acceptable to the state engineer.

(7) Notwithstanding the amount specified for any fee in this section, the state engineer by rule or as otherwise provided by law may reduce the amount of one or more of the fees if necessary pursuant to section 24-75-402 (3), C.R.S., to reduce the uncommitted reserves of the fund to which all or any portion of one or more of the fees is credited. After the uncommitted reserves of the fund are sufficiently reduced, the state engineer by rule or as otherwise provided by law may increase the amount of one or more of the fees as provided in section 24-75-402 (4), C.R.S.

(8) (a) The general assembly hereby declares that storm water detention and infiltration facilities, post-wildland fire facilities, and fire suppression ponds are essential for the protection of public safety and welfare, property, and the environment.

(b) As used in this subsection (8):

(I) A "storm water detention and infiltration facility" means a facility that is operated solely for storm water management and:

(A) Is owned or operated by a governmental entity or is subject to oversight by a governmental entity;

(B) Continuously releases or infiltrates at least ninety-seven percent of all of the water from a rainfall event that is equal to or less than a five-year storm within seventy-two hours after the end of the rainfall event;

(C) Continuously releases or infiltrates all of the water from a rainfall event greater than a five-year storm as quickly as practicable, but in all cases releases or infiltrates at least ninety-nine percent of all of the water from the rainfall event within one hundred twenty hours after the end of the rainfall event; and

(D) Operates passively and does not subject the storm water runoff to any active treatment process.

(II) A "post-wildland fire facility" means a facility that is:

(A) Not permanent;

(B) Located on, in, or adjacent to a nonperennial stream;

(C) Designed and operated solely for the mitigation of the impacts of wildland fire events; and

(D) Designed and operated to minimize the quantity of water detained and the duration of the detention of water to the levels necessitated by public safety and welfare.

(III) "Fire suppression pond" means a pond with water that may be used in a fire emergency, which pond has been:

(A) Identified as a potential fire suppression pond by a board of county commissioners in consultation with a fire protection district or fire authority pursuant to section 37-82-107; and

(B) Designated as a fire suppression pond by the state engineer pursuant to section 37-80-124.

(c) (I) Storm water detention and infiltration facilities in existence on August 5, 2015, that are operated in compliance with paragraphs (b) and (e) of this subsection (8) and post-wildland fire facilities that are operated in compliance with paragraphs (b) and (e) of this subsection (8) do not cause material injury to vested water rights.

(II) (A) The holder of a vested water right may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to determine whether the operation of a storm water detention and infiltration facility constructed after August 5, 2015, has caused material injury to that water right. Operation of the facility in compliance with paragraphs (b) and (e) of this subsection (8) creates a rebuttable presumption that the facility does not cause material injury to vested water rights if the operation of the facility approximates and does not cause a material reduction in the natural hydrograph with respect to peak flows that would have existed without the upstream urban development that results in the storm water being managed by the storm water detention and infiltration facility.

(B) The holder of a vested water right who brings an action under sub-subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (II) may rebut the presumption established by sub-subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (II) with evidence sufficient to show that the operation of the storm water detention and infiltration facility has caused material injury to the water right by modifying the amount or timing of water that would have been available for diversion by the water right absent the operation of the facility under hydrologic conditions that existed as of the water right's priority date, excluding flows resulting from development of impervious surfaces within the drainage that created the need for the storm water detention and infiltration facility.

(d) An entity that owns, operates, or has oversight for a storm water detention and infiltration facility constructed after August 5, 2015, shall, prior to operation of the facility, provide notice of the location and approximate surface area at design volume of the facility and the data that demonstrates that the facility has been designed to comply with sub-subparagraphs (B) and (C) of subparagraph (I) of paragraph (b) of this subsection (8) to all parties on the substitute water supply plan notification list maintained by the state engineer pursuant to section 37-92-308 (6) for the water division in which the facility is located.

(e) (I) Water detained or released by a storm water detention and infiltration facility or post-wildland fire facility shall not be used for any purpose, including, without limitation, by substitution or exchange, by the entity that owns, operates, or has oversight over the facility or that entity's assignees, and is available for diversion in priority after release or infiltration.

(II) An entity shall not release water detained by a storm water detention and infiltration facility or post-wildland fire facility for the subsequent diversion or storage by the person that owns, operates, or has oversight over the facility or that entity's assignees.

(III) The operation of a storm water detention and infiltration facility or post-wildland fire facility is not the basis for a water right, credit, or other right to or for the use of water.

(f) A person who installed or operated a post-wildland fire facility shall ensure that the facility is removed or rendered inoperable after the emergency conditions created by the wildfire no longer exist.

(g) Nothing in this subsection (8) alters, amends, or affects any otherwise applicable requirement to obtain a state or local permit for a storm water management facility or post-wildland fire facility constructed on or after August 5, 2015.

(h) The provisions of this subsection (8) relating to storm water detention and infiltration facilities do not apply to Fountain creek and its tributaries, except for facilities required by or operated in compliance with a Colorado discharge permit system municipal separate storm sewer system permit issued by the department of public health and environment pursuant to article 8 of title 25, C.R.S.

(i) If a board of county commissioners applies to the state engineer for the designation of a fire suppression pond pursuant to section 37-82-107, and the requirements of section 37-80-124 (10) and any rules promulgated by the division of fire prevention and control pursuant to section 37-82-107 (5) are satisfied, the proposed fire suppression pond is presumed to cause no material injury to the vested water rights of others. A holder of a decreed water right may rebut the presumption by providing evidence to the state engineer sufficient to show that material injury has occurred or will occur to the decreed water right.

(9) (a) The general assembly hereby declares that stream restoration projects are essential for the protection of public safety, welfare, property, and the environment.

(b) As used in this subsection (9), unless the context otherwise requires:

(I) "Minor stream restoration activity" means any or all of the following activities:

(A) Stabilizing the banks or substrate of a natural stream with hard, bioengineered, or natural materials that, under less than extreme flow conditions, allow water to flow downstream, do not cause the water level to exceed the ordinary high water mark, and may incidentally increase surface area of the natural stream;

(B) Mechanical grading of the ground surface along a natural stream system in a manner that does not result in groundwater exposure, diversions of surface water, or the collection of storm water;

(C) Stabilizing an ephemeral or intermittent natural stream by installing deformable and porous structures into the banks and substrate, which may incidentally and temporarily increase surface area or infiltration;

(D) Daylighting a natural stream that has been piped or buried;

(E) Reducing the surface area of a natural stream to address reductions in historical flow amounts; and

(F) Installing structures or reconstructing a channel in a natural stream system for the sole purpose of recovery from the impacts of a wildland fire or flood emergency.

(II) "Natural stream" has the meaning set forth in section 37-87-102 (1)(b).

(III) "Natural stream system" means the extent of a natural stream in the state and the geomorphic floodplain and associated riparian area.

(IV) "Stream restoration project" means a project that is designed and constructed:

(A) Within a natural stream system; and

(B) For the purposes of wildland fire mitigation; flood mitigation; bank stabilization; water quality protection or restoration; habitat, species, or ecosystem restoration; source water protection; infrastructure protection; or sediment and erosion management.

(c) If a stream restoration project is limited to one or more minor stream restoration activities:

(I) The stream restoration project does not cause material injury to any vested water right; and

(II) The stream restoration project is not an unnecessary dam or other obstruction.

(d) The owner or proponent of a stream restoration project shall not install the stream restoration project in a manner that adversely affects the function of structures used to divert water or measure water flow by holders of vested water rights without the permission of the owners of the structures.

(e) Notwithstanding any provision in this subsection (9) to the contrary, nothing in this subsection (9):

(I) Creates a presumption of injury for any activity that does not meet the definition of a minor stream restoration activity pursuant to subsection (9)(b)(I) of this section;

(II) Creates a basis for a water right, credit, or other right for the use of water;

(III) Creates precedent for the litigation of, creates a legislative determination of, alters, or affects any real property interests, including express or prescriptive flowage easements affecting land along a public stream held by any political subdivision or person;

(IV) Prohibits the state engineer from taking any action necessary to comply with an interstate compact, interstate apportionment decree, or interstate agreement;

(V) Alters, amends, or affects any federal, state, or local law or requirement that otherwise applies to a stream restoration project; or

(VI) Impairs or in any way affects the ability of any person to appropriate water for purposes related to a stream restoration project.

(f) A stream restoration project that has obtained any applicable permits or is under construction or completed by August 1, 2023, does not cause material injury to any vested water right and is not an unnecessary dam or other obstruction.
C.R.S. § 37-5-106 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 5 / Section 37-5-106
37-5-106. Conservancy bonds
Status: in_force

37-5-106. Conservancy bonds. (1) The board of directors may, if in its judgment it seems best, issue conservancy bonds (Schedule Form IV) in an amount not to exceed ninety percent of the total amount of the construction fund assessment, exclusive of interest, levied under the provisions of articles 1 to 8 of this title, in denominations of not less than one hundred dollars, bearing interest from date at a net effective interest rate determined by said board, to mature at annual intervals within thirty years commencing not later than five years after date, as may be determined by the board of directors, both principal and interest payable at a place or places determined by the board of directors and designated in the bonds. Said bonds shall be signed by the president of the district, and the seal of the district shall be thereunto affixed and attested by the signature of the secretary. The semiannual payments of interest shall be evidenced by coupons bearing a lithographed or engraved facsimile of the signature of the treasurer of the district. In case any officer whose signature or certificate appears upon bonds or coupons issued pursuant to articles 1 to 8 of this title ceases to be an officer before the delivery of such bonds to the purchaser, such signature or certificate shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes, the same as if he had remained in office until the delivery of the bonds.

(2) All of said bonds, when executed, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said district, who shall sell the same in such quantities and at such times as the board of directors may order to meet the payments for the works and improvements of the district. Said bonds may be sold below par, but they shall be sold at such a price that the total payment of principal and interest is not greater than would have been required if the bonds had borne the net effective interest rate when issued and had been sold for par and accrued interest. The bonds shall show on their faces the purpose for which they are issued and shall be payable out of money derived from the construction fund. A sufficient amount of the assessments shall be appropriated by the board of directors for the purpose of paying the principal and interest of bonds, and the same shall, when collected, be set apart in a separate fund for that purpose and no other. All bonds and coupons not paid at maturity shall bear interest at the net effective interest rate when issued, from maturity until paid, or until sufficient funds have been deposited at the place of payment. Any expenses incurred in the issue and sale of said bonds and in paying bonds and interest thereon may be paid out of any funds in the hands of the district treasurer.

(3) The board of directors, in making assessment levies provided in this article, shall take into account maturing bonds and interest on all bonds and shall make ample provision for the payment thereof. In case the proceeds of the original assessments made under the provisions of articles 1 to 8 of this title are not sufficient to pay punctually the principal of and the interest upon all bonds issued under this article, then the board of directors shall make such additional levy or levies against the appraised benefits as may be necessary for such purposes, and under no circumstances shall any assessment levies be made that will in any manner or to any extent impair the security of any bond issued under this article or the fund available for the payment of the principal thereof and interest thereon. But no bond issue under this article, or the assessment made to pay the same, shall have a priority of lien over any other bond issued or assessment made under this article. Said district treasurer shall, at the time of taking office, execute and deliver to the president of the district a bond with good and sufficient sureties to be approved by the said board of directors, conditioned that he shall account for and pay over as required by law and as ordered by said board of directors all moneys received by him on the sale of such bonds, or from any other source, and that he will sell and deliver such bonds to the purchaser or purchasers thereof, according to the terms prescribed in this article and not otherwise, and that he will, when ordered by said board to do so, return to said board, duly canceled, all bonds not sold, which said bonds shall remain in the custody of the president of the district, who shall produce the same for inspection or for use as evidence whenever and wherever legally required to do so.

(4) The said treasurer shall promptly report all sales of bonds to the board of directors, and the board of directors shall issue warrants upon the treasurer at the proper time for the payment of the maturing bonds so sold and the interest payments coming due on all bonds sold, and said treasurer shall place sufficient funds at the place of payment to pay the same. In case warrants are not issued by the board of directors as provided in this section, then the treasurer shall of his own accord place funds at the place of payment, and the canceled bonds and coupons shall be accepted in lieu of such warrants. The successors in office of any such district treasurer shall not be entitled to said bonds or the proceeds thereof until he has complied with all the foregoing provisions applicable to his predecessor in office; but, if it is deemed more expedient to the board of directors, as to moneys derived from the sale of bonds issued or from any other source, said board may by resolution select some suitable bank or banks or other depository, which depository shall give good and sufficient bond, as temporary or assistant treasurer, to hold and disburse said moneys on the orders of the board of directors as the work progresses, until such fund is exhausted or transferred to the district treasurer by order of the said board of directors. For such deposit the district shall receive not less than two percent interest per annum. The funds derived from the sale of said bonds shall be used for the purpose of paying the cost of the works and improvements and such costs, expenses, fees, and salaries as may be authorized by law and shall be used for no other purpose.

(5) If at the time when the bonds are ready to be issued, the board of directors is of the opinion that such bonds cannot advantageously be issued and sold in whole or in part, the board may sell parts only of the entire issue or may pledge all or part of said issue as collateral to a loan, but no partial sale or pledge shall be made without the order of the board made and entered of record, and no pledge shall be made at a greater margin than at the rate of one hundred dollars of bond principal for ninety dollars of loan.

(6) The district may borrow money from the United States government and provide for the repayment thereof in the manner provided for the payment of bonds, and the board of directors may make any necessary regulations to provide for such payment.

(7) A party who has not sought a remedy against any proceeding under articles 1 to 8 of this title until after bonds have been sold shall not for any cause have an injunction against the collection of taxes or assessments for the payment of said bonds.

(8) Articles 1 to 8 of this title shall, without reference to any other law of the general assembly of the state of Colorado, be full authority for the issuance and sale of the bonds authorized in articles 1 to 8 of this title, which bonds shall have all the qualities of negotiable investment securities as provided by article 8 of title 4, C.R.S. and when executed and sealed in conformity with the provisions of articles 1 to 8 of this title and when sold or pledged in the manner prescribed in this article, and the consideration therefor received by the district shall not be invalid for any irregularity or defect in the proceedings for the issue, sale, or pledge thereof and shall be incontestable in the hands of a holder in due course. No proceedings in respect to the issuance of any such bonds shall be necessary except such as are required by articles 1 to 8 of this title.

(9) Whenever the owner of any coupon issued pursuant to the provisions of articles 1 to 8 of this title presents such bond to the treasurer of the district, or to such bank or other depository as the board of directors of the district may for such purpose designate as registrar, with a request for the conversion of such bond into a registered bond, the said treasurer, bank, or other depository shall cut off and cancel the coupons of any such coupon bond so presented and shall stamp, print, or write upon such coupon bond so presented, either upon the back or the face thereof, as may be convenient, a statement to the effect that the said bond is registered in the name of the owner and that thereafter the interest and principal of said bond are payable to the registered owner. Thereafter and from time to time, such bond may be transferred by such registered owner in person or by attorney duly authorized on presentation of such bond for registration as before, a similar statement being stamped, printed, or written thereon. Such statement stamped, printed, or written upon any such bond may be substantially in the following form:

"This bond is registered in the name of (here insert name of owner) pursuant to the provisions of the conservancy law of Colorado, and the interest and principal thereof are hereafter payable to such owner.

Treasurer (or Registrar)

Conservancy District.

Date ............"

(10) If any bond is registered as provided in subsection (9) of this section, the principal and interest of such bond shall be payable to the registered owner. The treasurer of the district shall enter in a register of said bonds to be kept by him or in a separate book the fact of the registration of such bond and the name of the registered owner thereof, so that the register or book shall at all times show what bonds are registered and the name of the registered owner thereof.

(11) All bonds issued by any conservancy district pursuant to articles 1 to 8 of this title shall be exempt from all state, county, municipal, school, and other taxes imposed by any taxing authority of the state of Colorado.
C.R.S. § 37-84-106 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 84 / Section 37-84-106
37-84-106. Bridges over ditch - maintenance
Status: in_force

37-84-106. Bridges over ditch - maintenance. All bridges constructed over any ditch, race, drain, or flume crossing any public highway, street, or alley, after construction, shall be maintained by and at the expense of the county or municipality in which such ditch, race, drain, or flume may be situated.
C.R.S. § 37-5-104.5 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 5 / Section 37-5-104.5
37-5-104.5. Determination of special benefits - factors considered
Status: in_force

37-5-104.5. Determination of special benefits - factors considered. (1) The term "benefit", for the purposes of assessing a particular property within a conservancy district particularly with respect to regulating streamflow to control floods, includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) Any increase in the market value of the property;

(b) The provision for accepting the burden from specific dominant property for discharging surface water onto servient property in a manner or quantity greater than would naturally flow because the dominant owner made some of his property impermeable;

(c) Any adaptability of property to a superior or more profitable use;

(d) Any alleviation of health and sanitation hazards accruing to particular property or accruing to public property in the improvement district, if the provision of health and sanitation is paid for wholly or partially out of funds derived from taxation of property owners of the improvement district;

(e) Any reduction in the maintenance costs of particular property or of public property in the improvement district, if the maintenance of the public property is paid for wholly or partially out of funds derived from taxation of property owners of the improvement district;

(f) Any increase in convenience or reduction in inconvenience accruing to particular property owners, including the facilitation of access to and travel over streets, roads, and highways;

(g) Recreational improvements accruing to particular property owners as a direct result of drainage improvement.
C.R.S. § 37-41-145 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 41 / Section 37-41-145
37-41-145. Hearing of petition
Status: in_force

37-41-145. Hearing of petition. The board of directors, at the same time and place mentioned in the notice or at the time to which the hearing of said petition may be adjourned, shall proceed to hear the petition and all objections thereto presented in writing by any persons, showing cause why the prayer of said petitioner should not be granted. The filing of such petition with such board shall be deemed as an assent by each and all of such petitioners to the exclusion from such district of the lands mentioned in the petition, or any part thereof.
C.R.S. § 37-46-132 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 46 / Section 37-46-132
37-46-132. Allocation of water or service
Status: in_force

37-46-132. Allocation of water or service. In order to enable a subdistrict organized under the provisions of this article to furnish water to lands which have not been irrigated and had, up to the time of the construction of the works to be constructed by said subdistrict, no water supply and, at the same time, to enable other areas within the same subdistrict to obtain a supplemental supply of water or to enable said subdistrict to furnish a complete service to certain lands, certain areas, certain persons, or municipalities within the district and to supplement an existing supply or service to other persons, localities, and municipalities, prior to the time that an appraisement of benefits is made in any such subdistrict, the board of directors may make a resolution setting forth the amount of water or the kind of service to be allocated to specified classes or areas, and such limitation shall be taken into consideration by the appraisers in the appraisal of benefits with respect to lands affected by any such limitation. Like conditions and restrictions may be provided for payment by certain lands or persons of revenue warrants which pledge the income from the works of said subdistricts, but no such limitation shall govern the payment of any general obligations of any such subdistrict.
C.R.S. § 37-47-119 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 47 / Section 37-47-119
37-47-119. Assessments - procedure in making
Status: in_force

37-47-119. Assessments - procedure in making. (1) In the event that the plans for the organization of said district, including the petition and the decree entered thereon, provide for a plan of financing the construction or acquisition of the works, or other improvements proposed, by special assessments to be levied against the appraised benefits to property within said subdistrict, then said board of directors may make assessments from time to time, as required, and in making said assessments, said board shall be guided by the procedure for the levy of similar assessments under the conservancy law of the state of Colorado and particularly the provisions of said law appearing in sections 37-5-104 to 37-5-106, and the same shall apply to subdistricts created under this article.

(2) From time to time, as the affairs of the subdistrict may demand, the board of directors may levy on all property upon which benefits have been appraised an assessment of such portion of said benefits as may be found necessary by said board to pay the cost of the appraisal, the preparation, and execution of the official plan for said subdistrict, superintendence of construction and administration during the period of construction, plus ten percent of said total to be added for contingencies, but not to exceed in the total of principal the appraised benefits so adjudicated. The assessments, to be known as the "construction fund assessment", shall be apportioned to and levied on each tract of land or other property in said district in proportion to the benefits appraised and not in excess thereof, and in case bonds are issued, as provided in section 37-47-120, then the amount of interest which will accrue on such bonds as estimated by said board of directors shall be included in and added to the said assessment, but the interest to accrue on account of the issuance of said bonds shall not be construed as a part of the cost of construction in determining whether or not the expenses and cost of making said improvement are or are not equal to or in excess of the benefits appraised.

(3) As soon as said assessment is levied, the secretary of the subdistrict, at the expense thereof, shall prepare in duplicate an assessment of the subdistrict. It shall be in the form of a well-bound book endorsed and named "Construction Fund Assessment Record of Water Users' Association No. ...., or Special Improvement District No. ...., of the Southwestern Water Conservation District". Said record shall be in the form of similar records for conservancy districts under the laws of this state, particularly as provided in section 37-5-104. Said assessments may be paid in the manner provided in section 37-5-105, relating to conservancy districts under the laws of this state. All proceedings provided in said sections with respect to conservancy districts shall apply to the assessments, the records thereof, and the manner of payment of assessments of subdistricts organized under this article.
C.R.S. § 37-60-133 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 60 / Part 1 / Section 37-60-133
37-60-133. Minimum criteria and guidelines for agricultural water protection programs
Status: in_force

37-60-133. Minimum criteria and guidelines for agricultural water protection programs. (1) (a) The board shall develop minimum criteria and guidelines for the establishment of an agricultural water protection program in each water division pursuant to section 37-92-305 (19)(b)(IV)(B) to assure sufficient protection and monitoring of agricultural water protection water rights pursuant to section 37-92-305 (19)(b)(III).

(b) The board may promulgate separate minimum criteria and guidelines for each water division.

(c) (I) Until finalization of the criteria and guidelines, the board shall post and periodically update draft criteria and guidelines on its website.

(II) The board shall consider any comments it receives on the draft criteria and guidelines and, upon the request of an eligible entity, as defined in section 37-92-305 (19)(c), the board shall hold a meeting with the eligible entity to receive the eligible entity's comments.

(III) The board shall hold at least one public meeting in each water division to present the draft criteria and guidelines and receive comments on them.

(2) The board shall finalize the criteria and guidelines within one year after initiating the process to develop criteria and guidelines.

(3) As used in this section, "agricultural water protection water right" has the same meaning as in section 37-92-305 (19)(a).
C.R.S. § 37-47-134 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 47 / Section 37-47-134
37-47-134. Definition of elector
Status: in_force

37-47-134. Definition of elector. (1) An "elector", "elector of the district", or "elector of the subdistrict", or any term of similar import, means a person:

(a) Who, at the time of the election, is qualified to vote in general elections in this state; and

(b) Who is a resident of the district or subdistrict proposing to incur an indebtedness at the time of the election.

(2) Registration pursuant to the laws concerning general elections or any other laws shall not be required.
C.R.S. § 37-31-127 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 31 / Section 37-31-127
37-31-127. Right of entry to survey
Status: in_force

37-31-127. Right of entry to survey. The directors, agents, and employees of the drainage district have the right to enter upon any land in the district to make surveys and to locate drainage ditches and laterals.
C.R.S. § 37-43-203 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 43 / Part 2 / Section 37-43-203
37-43-203. Applicability - exercise of authority
Status: in_force

37-43-203. Applicability - exercise of authority. The provisions of this part 2 shall apply only to irrigation districts formed prior to January 1, 1988. The powers and authority conferred by this part 2 may be exercised only within the boundaries of such an irrigation district, as such boundaries existed on January 1, 1988.
C.R.S. § 37-46-147 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 46 / Section 37-46-147
37-46-147. Rents and charges
Status: in_force

37-46-147. Rents and charges. (1) (a) The district, any subdistrict, and any political subdivision of the state of Colorado contracting with the district or subdistrict and fixing and collecting annual rentals, service charges, and other charges, or any combination thereof, are, in supplementation of the powers provided in this article, authorized to fix and collect rents, rates, fees, tolls, and other charges, in this article sometimes referred to as "service charges", for direct or indirect connection with, or the use or services of, a water system, electrical system, joint system, or other facilities, including, without limitation, connection charges, minimum charges, and charges for the availability of service.

(b) Such service charges may be charged to and collected in advance or otherwise by a district from any political subdivision or person and by any political subdivision from any person contracting for such connection or use or services or from the owner or occupant, or any combination thereof, of any real property which directly or indirectly is or has been or will be connected with any such facilities, and the political subdivision or owner or occupant of any such real property shall be liable for and shall pay such service charges to the district, subdistrict, or political subdivision fixing the service charges at the time when and place where such service charges are due and payable.

(c) Such service charges of the district or subdistrict may accrue from any date on which the board of directors reasonably estimates, in any resolution authorizing the issuance of any securities or other instrument pertaining thereto or in any contract with any political subdivision or person, that any facilities or project being acquired or improved and equipped will be available for service or use.

(2) (a) Such rents, rates, fees, tolls, and other charges, being in the nature of use or service charges, shall, as nearly as the district, subdistrict, or political subdivision fixing the service charges shall deem practicable and equitable, be reasonable, and such service charges shall be uniform throughout the district, subdistrict, or political subdivision for the same type, class, and amount of use or service of the facilities and may be based or computed either: On measurements of water, flow devices, or electric meters, duly provided and maintained by the district, subdistrict, or political subdivision, or any user as approved by the district, subdistrict, or political subdivision fixing such charges; or on the consumption of water or electricity in or on or in connection with the political subdivision, or any person, or real property, making due allowance for commercial use of water and infiltration of groundwater and discharge of surface runoff to the facilities, or on the number and kind of water or electric outlets on or in connection with the political subdivision, person, or real property, or on the water or electric fixtures or facilities in or on or in connection with the political subdivision, person, or real property; or on the number of persons residing or working in or on or otherwise connected or identified with the political subdivision, person, or real property, or on the capacity of the improvements in or on or connected with the political subdivision, person, or real property; or upon the availability of service or readiness to serve by the facilities; or on any other factors determining the type, class, and amount of use or service of the facilities; or on any combination of any such factors.

(b) Reasonable penalties may be fixed for any delinquencies, including, without limitation, interest on delinquent service charges from any date due at a rate of not exceeding one percent per month or fraction thereof, reasonable attorneys' fees, and other costs of collection.

(3) The district, subdistrict, or political subdivision fixing the service charges shall prescribe and, from time to time when necessary, revise a schedule of such service charges, which shall comply with the terms of any contract of the district, subdistrict, or political subdivision fixing the service charges.

(4) The general assembly has determined and declared that the obligations, arising from time to time, of the district, any subdistrict, any political subdivision, or any person to pay service charges fixed in connection with any facilities shall constitute general obligations of the district, subdistrict, political subdivision, or person charged with their payment; but, as such obligations accrue for current services and benefits from, and the use of, any such facilities, the obligations shall not constitute an indebtedness of the district, any subdistrict, or any political subdivision within the meaning of any constitutional, charter, or statutory limitation or any other provision restricting the incurrence of any debt.

(5) No board, agency, bureau, commission, or official, other than the board of directors of the district or subdistrict, respectively, or the governing body of the political subdivision fixing the service charges, has authority to fix, prescribe, levy, modify, supervise, or regulate the making of service charges or to prescribe, supervise, or regulate the performance of services pertaining to the facilities thereof, as authorized by this article; but this subsection (5) shall not be construed to be a limitation on the contracting powers of the board of directors of the district or any subdistrict, respectively, or the governing body of any such political subdivision.
C.R.S. § 37-42-110 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 42 / Section 37-42-110
37-42-110. Directors to organize - powers
Status: repealed

37-42-110. Directors to organize - powers. (1) On the same day the board of directors is elected, and immediately following the meeting at which they were elected, the board shall meet for the purpose of organization of the board. It shall select one of its own members as president of the irrigation district and shall select a secretary who may or may not be a member of the board.

(2) (a) The board of directors shall be the governing body of the irrigation district for which it is elected and shall have the power to make and alter bylaws, rules, and regulations for the distribution of water and for the conduct of the district business not inconsistent with the laws of the state of Colorado and to make such contracts and employ such persons as are necessary for the conduct of the affairs of the district, in general exercising the usual and ordinary functions of management of the district, including, when specifically authorized by vote of the landowners so to do, to cooperate with the United States under the federal reclamation laws or any other federal laws enacted by the congress of the United States for the purpose of the construction of irrigation works, including drainage works necessary to maintain the irrigability of the land, or for the acquisition, purchase, extension, operation, or maintenance of constructed works, or for the assumption as principal or guarantor of indebtedness to the United States on account of district lands.

(b) It is also the duty of the board to make an annual report of the district showing the status of its affairs generally, including full lists of assets and liabilities, warrants and bonds outstanding, and such as have been paid or retired during the last fiscal year, and to present the report to the landowners at or before the annual election.

(3) As compensation for service as directors, each person so acting is entitled to receive one hundred dollars for each day necessarily spent in the discharge of district business and such expenses as are necessarily incurred in the conduct of its affairs; except that, after the first year, the landowners may fix other compensation by vote at any annual or special election.

(4) Repealed.

(5) No director or any officer named in this article shall be interested directly or indirectly, in any manner, in any contract awarded or to be awarded by the board or in the profits to be derived therefrom, nor shall he receive any bonds, gratuity, or bribe.

(6) Any officer who violates this section commits a class 6 felony and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-401, C.R.S. He or she shall also forfeit his or her office upon conviction.

(7) If it is found necessary by the board of directors to employ judges of election, each judge is entitled to receive as compensation for his or her services the sum of one hundred dollars per day to be paid by the district; except that the landowners may fix other compensation by vote at any annual or special election.
C.R.S. § 37-43-105 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 43 / Part 1 / Section 37-43-105
37-43-105. Increasing number of directors
Status: in_force

37-43-105. Increasing number of directors. The board of directors of any irrigation district in the state of Colorado may submit to the electors of any such district the question of whether or not the number of directors of such district shall be increased from three to five.
C.R.S. § 37-7-104 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 7 / Section 37-7-104
37-7-104. Penalty for fraud
Status: in_force

37-7-104. Penalty for fraud. The making of profit, directly or indirectly, by any officer of any district organized under articles 1 to 8 of this title or by any other public officer within the state out of any contracts entered into by the district or the use of any money belonging to the district by loaning it or otherwise using it or by depositing the same in any manner contrary to law or by removal of any money by any such officer or with his or her consent and placing it elsewhere than is prescribed either by law or by the official acts of the board of directors for the purpose of profit is prohibited. Any person who violates this section commits a class 6 felony and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-401, C.R.S., and the officer offending shall be liable personally and upon his or her official bond for all losses to such district and for all profits realized by such unlawful use of moneys.
C.R.S. § 37-60-126 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 60 / Part 1 / Section 37-60-126
37-60-126. Water conservation and drought mitigation planning - programs - relationship to
Status: repealed

37-60-126. Water conservation and drought mitigation planning - programs - relationship to state assistance for water facilities - guidelines - water efficiency grant program - definitions - repeal. (1) As used in this section and section 37-60-126.5, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Agency" means a public or private entity whose primary purpose includes the promotion of water resource conservation.

(b) "Covered entity" means each municipality, agency, utility, including any privately owned utility, or other publicly owned entity with a legal obligation to supply, distribute, or otherwise provide water at retail to domestic, commercial, industrial, or public facility customers, and that has a total demand for such customers of two thousand acre-feet or more.

(c) "Grant program" means the water efficiency grant program established pursuant to subsection (12) of this section.

(d) "Office" means the office of water conservation and drought planning created in section 37-60-124.

(e) "Plan elements" means those components of water conservation plans that address water-saving measures and programs, implementation review, water-saving goals, and the actions a covered entity shall take to develop, implement, monitor, review, and revise its water conservation plan.

(f) "Public facility" means any facility operated by an instrument of government for the benefit of the public, including, but not limited to, a government building; park or other recreational facility; school, college, university, or other educational institution; highway; hospital; or stadium.

(g) "Water conservation" means water use efficiency, wise water use, water transmission and distribution system efficiency, and supply substitution. The objective of water conservation is a long-term increase in the productive use of water supply in order to satisfy water supply needs without compromising desired water services.

(h) "Water conservation plan", "water use efficiency plan", or "plan" means a plan adopted in accordance with this section.

(i) "Water-saving measures and programs" includes a device, a practice, hardware, or equipment that reduces water demands and a program that uses a combination of measures and incentives that allow for an increase in the productive use of a local water supply.

(2) (a) Each covered entity shall, subject to section 37-60-127, develop, adopt, make publicly available, and implement a plan pursuant to which such covered entity shall encourage its domestic, commercial, industrial, and public facility customers to use water more efficiently. Any state or local governmental entity that is not a covered entity may develop, adopt, make publicly available, and implement such a plan.

(b) The office shall review previously submitted conservation plans to evaluate their consistency with the provisions of this section and the guidelines established pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of this section.

(c) On and after July 1, 2006, a covered entity that seeks financial assistance from either the board or the Colorado water resources and power development authority shall submit to the board a new or revised plan to meet water conservation goals adopted by the covered entity, in accordance with this section, for the board's approval prior to the release of new loan proceeds.

(3) The manner in which the covered entity develops, adopts, makes publicly available, and implements a plan established pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be determined by the covered entity in accordance with this section. The plan shall be accompanied by a schedule for its implementation. The plans and schedules shall be provided to the office within ninety days after their adoption. For those entities seeking financial assistance, the office shall then notify the covered entity and the appropriate financing authority that the plan has been reviewed and whether the plan has been approved in accordance with this section.

(4) A plan developed by a covered entity pursuant to subsection (2) of this section must, at a minimum, include a full evaluation of the following plan elements:

(a) The water-saving measures and programs to be used by the covered entity for water conservation. In developing these measures and programs, each covered entity shall, at a minimum, consider the following:

(I) Water-efficient fixtures and appliances, including toilets, urinals, clothes washers, showerheads, and faucet aerators;

(II) Low water use landscapes, drought-resistant vegetation, removal of phreatophytes, and efficient irrigation;

(III) Water-efficient industrial and commercial water-using processes;

(IV) Water reuse systems;

(V) Distribution system leak identification and repair;

(VI) Dissemination of information regarding water use efficiency measures, including by public education, customer water use audits, and water-saving demonstrations;

(VII) (A) Water rate structures and billing systems designed to encourage water use efficiency in a fiscally responsible manner.

(B) The department of local affairs may provide technical assistance to covered entities that are local governments to implement water billing systems that show customer water usage and that implement tiered billing systems.

(VIII) Regulatory measures designed to encourage water conservation;

(IX) Incentives to implement water conservation techniques, including rebates to customers to encourage the installation of water conservation measures;

(b) A section stating the covered entity's best judgment of the role of water conservation plans in the covered entity's water supply planning;

(c) The steps the covered entity used to develop, and will use to implement, monitor, review, and revise, its water conservation plan;

(d) The time period, not to exceed seven years, after which the covered entity will review and update its adopted plan;

(e) Either as a percentage or in acre-foot increments, an estimate of the amount of water that has been saved through a previously implemented conservation plan and an estimate of the amount of water that will be saved through conservation when the plan is implemented; and

(f) (I) Best management practices for water demand management, water efficiency, and water conservation that may be implemented through land use planning efforts.

(II) In order to assist covered entities in meeting the requirements of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (f), the board, in consultation with the division of local government in the department of local affairs, shall:

(A) Develop training programs, including introductory programs, refresher programs, and advanced programs, for local government water use, water demand, water consumption, and land use planners regarding best management practices for water demand management, water efficiency, and water conservation;

(B) Provide the training, on a recurring basis, free of charge to local water use, water demand, and land use planners; and

(C) Make recommendations regarding how to better integrate water demand management and conservation planning into land use planning, including, as appropriate, legislative, regulatory, and guidance or policy recommendations.

(4.5) (a) On an annual basis starting no later than June 30, 2014, covered entities shall report water use and conservation data, to be used for statewide water supply planning, following board guidelines pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection (4.5), to the board by the end of the second quarter of each year for the previous calendar year.

(b) No later than February 1, 2012, the board shall adopt guidelines regarding the reporting of water use and conservation data by covered entities and shall provide a report to the senate agriculture and natural resources committee and the house of representatives agriculture, livestock, and natural resources committee, or their successor committees, regarding the guidelines. These guidelines shall:

(I) Be adopted pursuant to the board's public participation process and shall include outreach to stakeholders from water providers with geographic and demographic diversity, nongovernmental organizations, and water conservation professionals; and

(II) Include clear descriptions of: Categories of customers, uses, and measurements; how guidelines will be implemented; and how data will be reported to the board.

(c) Repealed.

(5) Each covered entity and other state or local governmental entity that adopts a plan shall follow the entity's rules, codes, or ordinances to make the draft plan available for public review and comment. If there are no rules, codes, or ordinances governing the entity's public planning process, then each entity shall publish a draft plan, give public notice of the plan, make such plan publicly available, and solicit comments from the public for a period of not less than sixty days after the date on which the draft plan is made publicly available. Reference shall be made in the public notice to the elements of a plan that have already been implemented.

(6) The board is hereby authorized to recommend the appropriation and expenditure of revenues as are necessary from the unobligated balance of the five percent share of the severance tax operational fund designated for use by the board for the purpose of the office providing assistance to covered entities to develop water conservation plans that meet the provisions of this section.

(7) (a) The board shall adopt guidelines for the office to review water conservation plans submitted by covered entities and other state or local governmental entities. The guidelines shall define the method for submitting plans to the office, the methods for office review and approval of the plans, and the interest rate surcharge provided for in paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of this section.

(b) If no other applicable guidelines exist as of June 1, 2007, the board shall adopt guidelines by July 31, 2007, for the office to use in reviewing applications submitted by covered entities, other state or local governmental entities, and agencies for grants from the grant program and from the grant program established in section 37-60-126.5 (3). The guidelines shall establish deadlines and procedures for covered entities, other state or local governmental entities, and agencies to follow in applying for grants and the criteria to be used by the office and the board in prioritizing and awarding grants.

(8) A covered entity may at any time adopt changes to an approved plan in accordance with this section after notifying and receiving concurrence from the office. If the proposed changes are major, the covered entity shall give public notice of the changes, make the changes available in draft form, and provide the public an opportunity to comment on such changes before adopting them in accordance with subsection (5) of this section.

(9) (a) Neither the board nor the Colorado water resources and power development authority shall release grant or loan proceeds to a covered entity unless the covered entity provides a copy of the water conservation plan adopted pursuant to this section; except that the board or the authority may release the grant or loan proceeds notwithstanding a covered entity's failure to comply with the reporting requirements of subsection (4.5) of this section or if the board or the authority, as applicable, determines that an unforseen emergency exists in relation to the covered entity's loan application, in which case the board or the authority, as applicable, may impose a grant or loan surcharge upon the covered entity that may be rebated or reduced if the covered entity submits and adopts a plan in compliance with this section in a timely manner as determined by the board or the authority, as applicable.

(b) The board and the Colorado water resources and power development authority, to which any covered entity has applied for financial assistance for the construction of a water diversion, storage, conveyance, water treatment, or wastewater treatment facility, shall consider any water conservation plan filed pursuant to this section in determining whether to render financial assistance to such entity. Such consideration shall be carried out within the discretion accorded the board and the Colorado water resources and power development authority pursuant to which such board and authority render such financial assistance to such covered entity.

(c) The board and the Colorado water resources and power development authority may enter into a memorandum of understanding with each other for the purposes of avoiding delay in the processing of applications for financial assistance covered by this section and avoiding duplication in the consideration required by this subsection (9).

(10) Repealed.

(11) (a) (I) Any section of a restrictive covenant or of the declaration, bylaws, or rules and regulations of a common interest community, all as defined in section 38-33.3-103, and any rule or policy of a special district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (20), that prohibits or limits xeriscape, prohibits or limits the installation or use of drought-tolerant vegetative landscapes, requires cultivated vegetation to consist wholly or partially of turf grass, or prohibits the use of nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard of a residential property is hereby declared contrary to public policy and, on that basis, is unenforceable. This subsection (11)(a) does not prohibit common interest communities or special districts from adopting and enforcing design or aesthetic guidelines or rules that apply to drought-tolerant vegetative or nonvegetative landscapes or regulate the type, number, and placement of drought-tolerant plantings and hardscapes that may be installed on property that is subject to the guidelines or rules; except that the guidelines or rules must not prohibit the use of nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard of a residential property.

(II) This subsection (11)(a), as amended by House Bill 21-1229, enacted in 2021, does not apply to an association that includes time share units, as defined in section 38-33-110 (7).

(III) This subsection (11)(a), as amended by Senate Bill 23-178, enacted in 2023, applies only to a unit that is a single-family home that shares one or more walls with another unit and does not apply to a unit that is a detached single-family home.

(a.5) (I) Any section of a restrictive covenant or of the declaration, bylaws, or rules and regulations of a common interest community, all as defined in section 38-33.3-103, and any rule or policy of a special district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (20), that prohibits or limits xeriscape, prohibits or limits the installation or use of drought-tolerant vegetative or nonvegetative landscapes, requires cultivated vegetation to consist wholly or partially of turf grass, or prohibits the use of nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard of a residential property is hereby declared contrary to public policy and, on that basis, is unenforceable. This subsection (11)(a.5) does not prohibit common interest communities or special districts from adopting and enforcing design or aesthetic guidelines or rules that apply to drought-tolerant vegetative or nonvegetative landscapes or regulate the type, number, and placement of drought-tolerant plantings and hardscapes that may be installed on property that is subject to the guidelines or rules; except that the guidelines or rules must:

(A) Not prohibit the use of nonvegetative turf grass in the backyard of a residential property;

(B) Not unreasonably require the use of hardscape on more than twenty percent of the landscaping area of a unit of a common interest community, as those terms are defined in section 38-33.3-103 (8) and (30);

(C) Allow a unit owner, as defined in section 38-33.3-103 (31), an option that consists of at least eighty percent drought-tolerant plantings; and

(D) Not prohibit vegetable gardens in the front, back, or side yard of a unit owner's property. As used in this subsection (11)(a.5)(I)(D), "vegetable garden" means a plot of ground or an elevated soil bed in which pollinator plants, flowers, or vegetables or herbs, fruits, leafy greens, or other edible plants are cultivated.

(II) This subsection (11)(a.5) does not apply to:

(A) A unit owners' association, as defined in section 38-33.3-103 (3), that includes time share units, as defined in section 38-33-110 (7); or

(B) A unit, as defined in section 38-33.3-103 (30), that is a single-family home that shares one or more walls with another unit.

(b) As used in this subsection (11):

(I) "Executive board policy or practice" includes any additional procedural step or burden, financial or otherwise, placed on a unit owner who seeks approval for a landscaping change by the executive board of a unit owners' association, as defined in section 38-33.3-103, C.R.S., and not included in the existing declaration or bylaws of the association. An "executive board policy or practice" includes, without limitation, the requirement of:

(A) An architect's stamp;

(B) Preapproval by an architect or landscape architect retained by the executive board;

(C) An analysis of water usage under the proposed new landscape plan or a history of water usage under the unit owner's existing landscape plan; and

(D) The adoption of a landscaping change fee.

(II) "Restrictive covenant" means any covenant, restriction, bylaw, executive board policy or practice, or condition applicable to real property for the purpose of controlling land use, but does not include any covenant, restriction, or condition imposed on such real property by any governmental entity.

(II.5) "Turf" means a covering of mowed vegetation, usually turf grass, growing intimately with an upper soil stratum of intermingled roots and stems.

(III) "Turf grass" means continuous plant coverage consisting of nonnative grasses or grasses that have not been hybridized for arid conditions which, when regularly mowed, form a dense growth of leaf blades and roots.

(IV) "Xeriscape" has the meaning set forth in section 38-33.3-103 (33).

(c) Nothing in this subsection (11) precludes the executive board of a common interest community from taking enforcement action against a unit owner who allows his or her existing landscaping to die or go dormant; except that:

(I) No enforcement action shall require that a unit owner water in violation of water use restrictions declared by the jurisdiction in which the common interest community is located, in which case the unit owner shall water his or her landscaping appropriately but not in excess of any watering restrictions imposed by the water provider for the common interest community;

(II) Enforcement shall be consistent within the community and not arbitrary or capricious; and

(III) In any enforcement action in which the existing turf grass is dead or dormant due to insufficient watering, the unit owner shall be allowed a reasonable and practical opportunity, as defined by the association's executive board, with consideration of applicable local growing seasons or practical limitations, to reseed and revive turf grass before being required to replace it with new sod.

(d) (I) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (11)(d)(II) of this section, this subsection (11) does not supersede any subdivision regulation of a county, city and county, or other municipality.

(II) This subsection (11) supersedes a rule or policy of a special district, as defined in section 32-1-103 (20), only in the case of a direct conflict.

(12) (a) (I) There is hereby created the water efficiency grant program for purposes of providing state funding to aid in the planning and implementation of water conservation plans developed in accordance with the requirements of this section and to promote the benefits of water efficiency. The board is authorized to distribute grants to covered entities, other state or local governmental entities, and agencies in accordance with its guidelines from the moneys transferred to and appropriated from the water efficiency grant program cash fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury.

(II) Moneys in the water efficiency grant program cash fund are hereby continuously appropriated to the board for the purposes of this subsection (12) and shall be available for use until the programs and projects financed using the grants have been completed.

(III) For each fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2010, the general assembly shall appropriate from the fund to the board up to five hundred thousand dollars annually for the purpose of providing grants to covered entities, other state and local governmental entities, and agencies in accordance with this subsection (12). Commencing July 1, 2008, the general assembly shall also appropriate from the fund to the board fifty thousand dollars each fiscal year to cover the costs associated with the administration of the grant program and the requirements of section 37-60-124. Moneys appropriated pursuant to this subparagraph (III) shall remain available until expended or until June 30, 2020, whichever occurs first.

(IV) The state treasurer shall transfer any money remaining in the fund on June 30, 2030, to the severance tax operational fund described in section 39-29-109 (2)(b).

(V) On April 30, 2021, the state treasurer shall transfer two hundred nineteen thousand eight hundred three dollars from the water efficiency grant program created in subsection (12)(a)(I) of this section to the severance tax operational fund created in section 39-29-109 (2)(b)(I).

(b) Any covered entity or state or local governmental entity that has adopted a water conservation plan and that supplies, distributes, or otherwise provides water at retail to customers may apply for a grant to aid in the implementation of the water efficiency goals of the plan. Any agency may apply for a grant to fund outreach or education programs aimed at demonstrating the benefits of water efficiency. The office shall review the applications and make recommendations to the board regarding the awarding and distribution of grants to applicants who satisfy the criteria outlined in this subsection (12) and the guidelines developed pursuant to subsection (7) of this section.

(b.5) Repealed.

(c) This subsection (12) is repealed, effective July 1, 2030.
C.R.S. § 37-60-118 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 60 / Part 1 / Section 37-60-118
37-60-118. Assent to water resources planning act
Status: in_force

37-60-118. Assent to water resources planning act. (1) The state of Colorado, by and through the Colorado water conservation board, hereby assents to the provisions of the act of congress entitled "Water Resources Planning Act", approved July 22, 1965. The Colorado water conservation board is authorized, empowered, and directed to perform such acts as may be necessary to the conduct and establishment of a comprehensive water planning program as defined in title III of said act and in conformity with such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the water resources council pursuant to said act.

(2) There is hereby created a fund designated as "federal aid water planning fund" to which shall be deposited all sums contributed to the state of Colorado by the federal government pursuant to title III of the water resources planning act. All moneys deposited under the provisions of this section are hereby specifically appropriated to the Colorado water conservation board for the purposes specified in said act of congress and no such moneys shall be expended for any other purpose.
C.R.S. § 37-90-140 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 90 / Section 37-90-140
37-90-140. Inclusion of lands
Status: in_force

37-90-140. Inclusion of lands. (1) (a) The boundaries of any district organized under the provisions of this article may be changed in the manner prescribed in this section, but the change of boundaries of the district shall not impair or affect its organization or its rights in or to property or any of its rights and privileges whatsoever, nor shall it affect or impair or discharge any contract, obligation, lien, or charge for or upon which it might be liable or chargeable had any such change of boundaries not been made. An election for the inclusion of real property in the district may be initiated by a petition, in writing, filed with the secretary of the board.

(b) The petition shall describe the boundaries of the proposed additional territory with such certainty as to enable a property owner to determine whether or not his property is within the district and shall contain a prayer for the inclusion of such additional territory. Such petition shall be signed by not less than fifteen percent of the taxpaying electors within the territory sought to be included and acknowledged in the same manner that conveyances of land are required to be acknowledged.

(c) If lands proposed to be included within a district, duly organized under the provisions of this article, are located within the water basin or aquifer within which the district lies, as determined by the commission, such lands are eligible for inclusion within said district under the provisions of this article and not otherwise.

(d) Within twenty-one days after the filing of the petition, the board shall examine the petition, and, if it finds that it bears the requisite number of signatures and otherwise meets the stated requirements, it shall accept the petition and shall fix a time and place, not less than thirty-five days nor more than forty-two days after the date of such acceptance, for a hearing thereon. The secretary of the board shall publish a notice of such hearing by one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in every county in which any portion of the district and the proposed additional territory to be included in the district are located. The publication shall be at least fourteen days prior to the date of the hearing. Such notice shall state the nature of the petition, the description of the proposed additional territory, and that any person owning any interest in real property within the district or within the proposed additional territory to be included in the district may appear at the hearing and show cause in writing why the petition should not be granted.

(2) The board, at the time and place fixed, or at such times to which the hearing may be continued, shall proceed to hear the petition and all objections thereto presented in writing. The failure of any person to object in writing shall be deemed an assent on his part to the inclusion of the proposed additional territory in the district as prayed for in the petition. Upon completion of the hearing, the board may order changes in the boundaries of the proposed lands to be included in the district by the inclusion or exclusion of land therefrom upon finding that such change in boundaries would be hydrologically, geologically, and geographically sound. The board, in its discretion, and on conditions to be determined by the board and accepted by the petitioners, may grant the petition, deny it, or grant it as to part of the proposed additional territory and deny it as to the remaining portion. Unless the petitioners are the owners of all the territory proposed to be added to the district, the board shall submit the question of the inclusion of the additional territory as so determined, to the taxpaying electors within the territory to be included, in an election held for that purpose.

(3) The board shall appoint three taxpaying electors of the district, including two from the area sought to be included, as judges of the election. The secretary of the board shall have published a notice of the time and place of said election to be held in the territory proposed for inclusion in the district by one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the territory proposed for inclusion in the district. Such election shall not be held less than twenty-one days after said publication of notice.

(4) Such elections shall be held and conducted as nearly as may be in the same manner for creating districts as set forth in section 37-90-124. At the election, the taxpaying electors in the territory proposed for inclusion in the district shall vote for or against such inclusion. The judges of election shall certify the returns of the election to the board. If a majority of the votes cast at such election are for the inclusion of the additional territory, the board shall make an order to that effect and file the same with the secretary of the board.

(5) Any action of the board with respect to the inclusion of territory within an existing district may be reviewed by the district court in appeal proceedings filed within fourteen days after the board's decision has been announced.

(6) If the district within which the lands are included has incurred any prior bonded indebtedness, outstanding at the time of such inclusion, such additional land area shall be liable for its proportionate share of such prior indebtedness of said district.
C.R.S. § 37-44-147 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 44 / Section 37-44-147
37-44-147. Notice of hearing
Status: in_force

37-44-147. Notice of hearing. The court shall fix the time for the hearing of said petition and shall order the clerk of the court to give and publish a notice of the filing of said petition. The notice shall be given and published for three successive weeks in a newspaper published in each county into which the district may extend. The notice shall state the time and place fixed for the hearing of the petition and the prayer of the petitioners and that any person interested in the organization of said district, or sale of said bonds, on or before the day fixed for the hearing of said petition, may move to dismiss or answer said petition. The petition may be referred to and described in said notice as the petition of the board of directors of .............. internal improvement district (giving its name), praying that the proceedings for the issue of said bonds of said district may be examined, approved, and confirmed by the court.
C.R.S. § 37-90-120 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 90 / Section 37-90-120
37-90-120. Management districts - petition - signatures required - filing
Status: in_force

37-90-120. Management districts - petition - signatures required - filing. Following receipt of the consent required by section 37-90-119, a petition calling for formation of the proposed district may be filed with the commission. The petition shall be signed by not less than fifteen percent of the taxpaying electors within the proposed district.
C.R.S. § 37-41-121 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 41 / Section 37-41-121
37-41-121. Assessor - assessment
Status: in_force

37-41-121. Assessor - assessment. (1) It is the duty of the county assessor of any county embracing the whole or a part of any irrigation district to assess and enter upon his records as assessor in its appropriate column the assessment of all real estate, including public lands subject to assessment under the act of congress of August 11, 1916, exclusive of improvements, situate, lying, and being within any irrigation district in whole or in part of such county. Immediately after said assessment has been extended as provided by law, the assessor shall make returns of the total amount of such assessment to the board of county commissioners of the county in which the office of said district is located. All lands within the district, for the purpose of taxation under this article, shall be valued by the assessor at the same rate per acre; but in no case shall any land be taxed, or subject to taxation, for irrigation district purposes under this article, or under any other law relative to irrigation districts, which, by reason of location or the broken uneven surface, or unsuitable character or quality of the soil, is unsuitable for irrigation and cultivation, or which, from any natural cause, is not capable of irrigation and cultivation, except at a financial loss, nor shall tracts of land of one acre or less be taxed for irrigation purposes if the board of directors of the irrigation district has fixed an amount payable for each of said tracts. If the amount of water available from the water system of the irrigation district is wholly insufficient for the successful growing and maturing of crops on the entire acreage of lands within the district and susceptible of irrigation therefrom, that fact may be alleged and, upon being established by proofs, shall entitle the owner of lands that have never been cultivated and irrigated from the water system of such irrigation district to the relief provided for in this article.

(2) In all cases where any such land is included in any irrigation district under any law relative to irrigation districts and assessed for irrigation district purposes, it may be excluded from such irrigation district and relieved from such assessments for irrigation district purposes by order of the board of directors of the irrigation district, upon written petition of the owner, verified as pleadings are required to be verified. The petition shall state the grounds upon which the relief is asked and shall also show that the land has never been cultivated and irrigated and is incapable of cultivation by irrigation from the irrigation system of the irrigation district, and that the petitioner did not participate in the organization of the districts; and, upon hearing before the board of directors on such petition, the allegations thereof must be supported by evidence. Notice of the filing of such petition and of the time and place of hearing thereon shall be given for the length of time and in the manner as provided in section 37-41-144.

(3) The action of the board of directors upon such petitions, as well as the action of the board of county commissioners in including such land in such irrigation district and the subsequent taxing of such lands for irrigation district purposes, shall be subject to review and correction by any court of competent jurisdiction, but the owner of any such land shall be deemed to have waived, relinquished, and lost his right to relief under this section as to such land or such portion of it as he has cultivated and irrigated from the irrigation system of such irrigation district; where a contract has been entered into between the United States and any irrigation district, the district boundaries shall not be changed, nor shall lands be exempted from taxation except upon written consent of the secretary of the interior filed with the official records of the district, nor in case of such a contract shall the foregoing provisions of this section requiring the assessor to value all lands within such district at the same rate per acre be applicable, but in such case the county assessor shall assess such district land in accordance with the certificate provided for in section 37-41-120 and in compliance with the terms of such contract between the United States and the district.

(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this article 41 to the contrary, in addition to the amount described in section 30-1-102 (1)(p), the county treasurer shall receive five dollars per tract assessed pursuant to section 37-41-120 for loans issued to landowners pursuant to section 37-41-113 (9), and this five dollars shall be assessed against each participating tract.