C.R.S. § 37-47-149 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 47 / Section 37-47-149
37-47-149. Cooperative powers
Status: in_force

37-47-149. Cooperative powers. (1) The district and any subdistrict have the power to utilize and may utilize private industry, by contract, to carry out the design, construction, operation, management, manufacturing, marketing, planning, and research and development functions of the district or any subdistrict proceeding under this article, unless the district or subdistrict determines that it is in the public interest to adopt another course of action. The district or subdistrict, or both, may enter into long-term contracts with private persons, not exceeding a term of seventy-five years, without an election, for the performance of any such functions of the district or subdistrict, which, in the opinion of the district or subdistrict, can desirably and conveniently be carried out by a private person under contract; but any such contract shall contain such terms and conditions as shall enable the district or subdistrict to retain reasonable supervision and control of such functions to be carried out or performed by such private persons pursuant to such contract.

(2) Subject to the provisions of section 37-47-133, the district and any subdistrict have the following powers:

(a) To accept contributions, grants, or loans from the state and the federal government for the purpose of financing the planning, acquisition, improvement, equipment, maintenance, and operation of any enterprise in which the district or subdistrict, or both, are authorized to engage, and to enter into contracts and cooperate with, and accept cooperation from, the federal government, the state, the subdistrict or the district, respectively, any political subdivision, any private firm, and any other person, or any combination thereof, in the planning, acquisition, improvement, equipment, maintenance, and operation and in financing the planning, acquisition, improvement, equipment, maintenance, and operation of any such enterprise in accordance with any legislation which the general assembly, congress, the governing body of any political subdivision, the board of directors or other governing body of any private firm, any other person, or any combination thereof may have adopted prior to the adoption of this article or may thereafter adopt, under which aid, assistance, and cooperation may be furnished by such cooperating entity or entities or other persons in the planning, acquisition, improvement, equipment, maintenance, and operation or in financing the planning, acquisition, improvement, equipment, maintenance, and operation of any such enterprise, including, without limitation, costs of engineering, architectural, and economic investigations and studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, and other action preliminary to the acquisition, improvement, or equipment of any facilities, or any part thereof, and to do any and all things necessary in order to avail itself of such aid, assistance, and cooperation under any state, federal, or other legislation;

(b) To enter into, without any election, joint operating or service contracts and agreements; acquisition, improvement, equipment, or disposal contracts; or other arrangements for any term not exceeding seventy-five years, with the federal government, the state, the subdistrict or the district, respectively, any political subdivision, any private firm, or any other person, or any combination thereof, concerning the facilities, and any project or property pertaining thereto, whether acquired or undertaken by the district, by the subdistrict, by the federal government, by any political subdivision of this state or any other state, or by any person; and to accept contributions, grants, or loans from the cooperating entity or entities or other persons in connection therewith;

(c) To enter into and perform without any election, when determined by the board of directors to be in the public interest, contracts and agreements, for any term not exceeding seventy-five years, with the federal government, the subdistrict or the district, respectively, any political subdivision, or any person, or any combination thereof, for the provision and operation by the subdistrict or the district, respectively, of any facilities pertaining to such facilities of the district or subdistrict, as the case may be, any part thereof, or any project relating thereto, and the payment periodically thereby to the district or subdistrict of amounts at least sufficient, if any, in the determination of the board, to compensate the district or subdistrict for the cost of providing, operating, and maintaining such facilities serving the federal government, the subdistrict or the district, respectively, any political subdivision, or such other person, or any combination thereof, or otherwise;

(d) To enter into and perform, without any election, contracts and agreements, on a public bid basis, a competitive basis, or a negotiated basis, as the board of directors may determine, with the federal government, the subdistrict or the district, respectively, any political subdivision, any private firm, or any other person, or any combination thereof, for or concerning the planning, construction, lease, other acquisition, improvement, equipment, operation, maintenance, disposal, and financing of any property pertaining to the facilities of the district or subdistrict or to any project of the district or subdistrict, including, without limitation, any contract or agreement for any term not exceeding seventy-five years, pertaining to the joint ownership of the facilities as tenants in common thereamong, providing for the exchange of water or electric power, for backup water or power, pooling of resources, the designation of a manager for any such project or facilities supervised by an engineering and operating committee of co-owners, or otherwise supervised; and otherwise to contract with water or power producers or users, or both;

(e) To cooperate with and act in conjunction with the federal government or any of its engineers, officers, boards, commissions, or departments, or with the state or any of its engineers, officers, boards, commissions, or departments, or with any political subdivision or any person in the acquisition, improvement, and equipment of any facilities or any part thereof authorized for the district or subdistrict or for any other works, acts, or purposes provided for in this article and to adopt and carry out any definite plan or system of work for any such purpose;

(f) To cooperate with the federal government, the subdistrict or district, respectively, any political subdivision, or any person, or any combination thereof, by an agreement therewith by which the district or the subdistrict may:

(I) Acquire and provide, without cost to the cooperating entity or entities, the land, easements, and rights-of-way necessary for the acquisition, improvement, and equipment of any properties;

(II) Hold the cooperating entity or entities free from and save it or them harmless from any claim for damages arising from the acquisition, improvement, equipment, maintenance, and operation of any facilities;

(III) Maintain and operate any facilities in accordance with regulations prescribed by the cooperating entity or entities; and

(IV) Establish and enforce regulations, if any, concerning the facilities which are satisfactory to the cooperating entity or entities;

(g) To provide, by any contract for any term not exceeding seventy-five years, or otherwise, without an election:

(I) For the joint use of personnel, equipment, and facilities of the district, the subdistrict, any political subdivision, or any person, or any combination thereof, including, without limitation, public buildings constructed by or under the supervision of the board of directors, the governing body of the political subdivision, or the board of directors or other governing body of a private firm or other person concerned, upon such terms and agreements and within such areas within the district or subdistrict, or otherwise, as may be determined, for the promotion and protection of health, comfort, safety, life, welfare, and property of the inhabitants of the district or subdistrict and any such political subdivision and any other persons of interest, and for water or electric services;

(II) For the joint employment of clerks, stenographers, and other employees pertaining to the facilities or any project, now existing or hereafter established, upon such terms and conditions as may be determined for the equitable apportionment of the expenses resulting therefrom;

(h) To provide for comprehensive planning and, where possible, coordinate operations of the district or subdistrict with the subdistrict or district, respectively, any and all such political subdivisions, private firms, and other persons, or any combination thereof, pertaining to water conservation and use and to the generation and use of electricity.
C.R.S. § 37-89-102 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 89 / Section 37-89-102
37-89-102. Jurisdiction of county court
Status: in_force

37-89-102. Jurisdiction of county court. The county court has jurisdiction of all offenses under the provisions of section 37-89-101.
C.R.S. § 37-47-137 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 47 / Section 37-47-137
37-47-137. Conduct of election
Status: in_force

37-47-137. Conduct of election. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this article, an election held pursuant to this article shall be opened and conducted in the manner then provided by the laws of this state for the conduct of general elections.

(2) If an election is held concurrently with a primary or general election, the county clerk and recorder of each county in which the district or subdistrict holding the debt election is located shall perform for the district or subdistrict election the acts provided by law to be performed by such officials. If an election is not held concurrently with a primary or general election, such acts shall be performed by the secretary of the district with the assistance of such county clerk and recorders. The board of directors and such county clerk and recorders are authorized to agree among themselves upon the division of such acts and the determination of persons to perform them.

(3) An elector of the district may vote in any election by absentee voter's ballot under such terms and conditions, and in substantially the same manner insofar as is practicable, as prescribed in article 13.5 of title 1, C.R.S., of the "Uniform Election Code of 1992", except as specifically modified in this article.

(4) All acts required or permitted therein to be performed by a county clerk and recorder shall be performed by each one respectively in the event of a primary or general election and by the secretary or assistant secretary of the board of directors in the event of any other election, unless the services of the county clerk and recorder in each such county are contracted for, but no oath shall be administered by the secretary or assistant secretary unless he is also an officer authorized to administer oaths.

(5) Application may be made for an absentee voter's ballot not more than twenty days and not less than four days before the election.

(6) No consideration shall be given nor distinction made with reference to any person's political party affiliation or the lack thereof.

(7) The return envelope for the absentee voter's ballot shall have printed on its face an affidavit substantially in the following form:

"State of Colorado, County of ........., I, .........., being first duly sworn according to law, depose and say that my residence and post-office address is ....................; that I am a person qualified to vote in general elections in the State of Colorado and am a resident of the Southwestern Water Conservation District or Water Users' Association No. ...... or Special Improvement District No. ...... in the Southwestern Water Conservation District, as may be appropriate, at the time of this election.

...................................................

Signature of voter

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ... day of............, 20....

...................................................

(Signature of notary public,

county clerk and recorder,

or other officer authorized

to administer oaths)

(SEAL)

...................................................

Title of office"

(8) In any such election at which voting machines are used, the board of directors shall provide paper ballots for absentee voters containing the same question as is to be submitted to the electors by the voting machines, subject to the provisions of subsection (9) of this section.

(9) The district or subdistrict may provide for mail voters to cast their mail voters' ballots on voting machines expressly provided for that purpose, if each mail voter indicates by affidavit that he or she is qualified to vote at the election and will be a mail voter, pursuant to article 13.5 of title 1, C.R.S., and all laws supplemental thereto.
C.R.S. § 37-45-151 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 45 / Section 37-45-151
37-45-151. Majority vote determines question
Status: in_force

37-45-151. Majority vote determines question. The electors of the district shall be qualified to vote on the question of dissolving the district. If a majority of votes are for dissolution of the district, the district shall be dissolved as provided in section 37-45-152. Any objections to the election, or proceedings to invalidate the election, must be filed in the court within thirty days from the date of the election. Errors, omissions, and irregularities not affecting substantial rights shall be disregarded.
C.R.S. § 37-21-111 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 21 / Section 37-21-111
37-21-111. Right to enter upon land in district
Status: in_force

37-21-111. Right to enter upon land in district. 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. § 37-3-102 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 3 / Section 37-3-102
37-3-102. Oath or affirmation - organization
Status: in_force

37-3-102. Oath or affirmation - organization. Each director shall take an oath or affirmation in accordance with section 24-12-101. The board of directors shall choose one of its number as chairperson of the board and president of the district and shall elect some suitable person secretary of the board and of the district who may or may not be a member of the board. Such board shall adopt a seal and shall keep in a visual text format that may be transmitted electronically a record of all of its proceedings, minutes of all meetings, certificates, contracts, bonds given by employees, and corporate acts, which shall be open to the inspection of all owners of property in the district as well as to all other interested parties.
C.R.S. § 37-23-118 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 23 / Section 37-23-118
37-23-118. Directors to perfect title - repeal
Status: repealed

37-23-118. Directors to perfect title - repeal. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-31-151 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 31 / Section 37-31-151
37-31-151. Judicial confirmation of bonds
Status: in_force

37-31-151. Judicial confirmation of bonds. The board of directors of the drainage district may commence special proceedings in the district court of Mesa county, Colorado, in and by which the proceedings of said board in said district, providing for and authorizing the issue and sale of the bonds of said district, whether said bonds have or have not been sold or disposed of, may be judicially examined, approved, and confirmed, and the proceedings shall be in conformity with the law regulating like proceedings for the examination, approval, and confirmation of the organization and bonds of irrigation districts.
C.R.S. § 37-44-130 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 44 / Section 37-44-130
37-44-130. Administration of oath
Status: in_force

37-44-130. Administration of oath. Any judge or clerk of election may administer and certify oaths required to be administered during the progress of an election. Before opening the polls each judge and clerk shall take and subscribe an oath to faithfully perform the duties imposed upon him by law. Any qualified elector of the precinct may administer and certify said oath.
C.R.S. § 37-60-129 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 60 / Part 1 / Section 37-60-129
37-60-129. Availability of funds
Status: in_force

37-60-129. Availability of funds. Moneys appropriated or authorized to the board from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund and from the Colorado river recovery program loan fund shall remain available to the board for the original purposes, unless deauthorized by the legislature, until any project for which the moneys were appropriated or authorized is completed.
C.R.S. § 37-31-126 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 31 / Section 37-31-126
37-31-126. Bonds of directors
Status: in_force

37-31-126. Bonds of directors. Each director shall execute a bond in the penal sum of two thousand dollars, with sureties approved by the county judge of Mesa county, Colorado, and file the same in the office of the county clerk and recorder of said county. Said bonds shall be in the form prescribed by law for county officers making the drainage district obligee therein.
C.R.S. § 37-45-104 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 45 / Section 37-45-104
37-45-104. Name of district - bonds
Status: in_force

37-45-104. Name of district - bonds. The districts created under this article may be termed "water conservancy districts", and the bonds which may be issued under this article may be called "water conservancy bonds", and such designation may be engraved or printed on their face.
C.R.S. § 37-48-167 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 48 / Section 37-48-167
37-48-167. Limited obligation
Status: repealed

37-48-167. Limited obligation. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-48-121 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 48 / Section 37-48-121
37-48-121. Election returns
Status: in_force

37-48-121. Election returns. The election officials shall make their returns directly to the county commissioners of said counties in care of the board of county commissioners of Alamosa county, Alamosa, Colorado. The county commissioners of said counties shall act as the canvassing body. The returns of said election shall be made and canvassed at any time and in the manner provided by law for the canvass of the returns of any general election. It is the duty of such canvassing body to certify promptly and to transmit to the governor of the state of Colorado a statement of the results of the vote upon the proposition submitted. If a majority of the voters voting in said election vote in favor of the formation of the Rio Grande water conservation district, the governor shall declare the same to be formed. If a majority of the voters voting in said election do not vote in favor of formation of said district, the governor shall declare that the district is not formed. If the governor declares said district to be formed, it shall be formed as of the time and date specified in his declaration of formation.
C.R.S. § 37-21-113 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 21 / Section 37-21-113
37-21-113. Property to vest in district
Status: in_force

37-21-113. Property to vest in district. The title to property acquired under the provisions of articles 20 to 30 of this title shall vest in such drainage district in its corporate name. Said property shall be held by such district in trust for, and is hereby dedicated and set apart for, the uses and purposes set forth in articles 20 to 30 of this title and shall be exempt from taxation. The board of directors is authorized to hold, use and acquire, manage, occupy, and possess said property.
C.R.S. § 37-60-123.7 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 60 / Part 1 / Section 37-60-123.7
37-60-123.7. Acquisitions of water for instream flows
Status: repealed

37-60-123.7. Acquisitions of water for instream flows. (1) In addition to any other moneys appropriated from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund, up to one million dollars in the fund are continuously appropriated to the board annually to pay for the costs of acquiring water, water rights, and interests in water for instream flow use. The total amount of the continuous appropriation that is unencumbered in any fiscal year must not exceed one million dollars. The primary priority for expenditures of these revenues is the costs of water acquisitions for existing or new instream flow water rights to preserve and improve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. These revenues also may be used, in limited circumstances, for the costs of water acquisitions to:

(a) Preserve and improve the natural environment of species that have been listed as threatened or endangered under state or federal law, are candidate species, or are likely to become candidate species;

(b) Support wild and scenic alternative management plans; or

(c) Provide federal regulatory certainty.

(1.5) Repealed.

(2) Prior to any expenditure of funds under this section, the board shall adopt criteria and guidelines regarding its implementation of this spending authority. The board shall approve any expenditure of funds pursuant to this section. Within three months after the end of any fiscal year during which the spending authority created pursuant to this section is exercised, the board shall report to the general assembly regarding how such spending authority was exercised.
C.R.S. § 37-92-502 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 92 / Part 5 / Section 37-92-502
37-92-502. Orders as to waste, diversions, or distribution of water
Status: repealed

37-92-502. Orders as to waste, diversions, or distribution of water. (1) The state engineer or the division engineers shall issue to the owners or users of water rights and to the users of waters of the state such orders as are necessary to implement the provisions of section 37-92-501, including, but not limited to, the orders specified in subsections (2) to (7) of this section. If such orders are given orally, they shall be confirmed promptly in writing.

(2) (a) Each division engineer shall order the total or partial discontinuance of any diversion in his division to the extent that the water being diverted is not necessary for application to a beneficial use; and he shall also order the total or partial discontinuance of any diversion in his division to the extent that the water being diverted is required by persons entitled to use water under water rights having senior priorities, but no such discontinuance shall be ordered unless the diversion is causing or will cause material injury to such water rights having senior priorities. In making his decision as to the discontinuance of a diversion to satisfy senior priorities, the division engineer shall be governed by the following: The materiality of injury depends on all factors which will determine in each case the amount of water such discontinuance will make available to such senior priorities at the time and place of their need. Such factors include the current and prospective volumes of water in and tributary to the stream from which the diversion is being made; distance and type of stream bed between the diversion points; the various velocities of this water, both surface and underground; the probable duration of the available flow; and the predictable return flow to the affected stream. Each diversion shall be evaluated and administered on the basis of the circumstances relating to it and in accordance with provisions of this article and the court decrees adjudicating and confirming water rights. In the event that a discontinuance has been ordered pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph (a), and nevertheless such discontinuance does not cause water to become available to such senior priorities at the time and place of their need, then such discontinuance order shall be rescinded. If a well has been approved as an alternate means of diversion for a water right for which a surface means of diversion is decreed, such well and such surface means must be utilized to the extent feasible and permissible under this article to satisfy said water right before diversions under junior water rights are ordered discontinued. In addition to any other methods of giving notice, the posting of a written order, in plain sight, at the place of diversion shall be considered sufficient notice of the order of the division engineer; and, when so posted, such order shall be effective from the time of posting.

(b) If any 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, the division engineer shall not order the curtailment of diversions which were attributable solely to evaporation from such exposed groundwater.

(c) Upon a claim made to the state engineer for administration pursuant to section 37-92-102 (3)(b), the state engineer shall confirm the extent of the claimed unadjudicated use or exchange of water being made pursuant to appropriation or practices in existence on the date of appropriation of an instream flow water right. The state engineer's confirmation is reviewable by the water court on a de novo basis. Nothing in this subsection (2)(c) requires or prohibits a water user from seeking water court confirmation or adjudication of the preexisting uses or exchanges.

(3) Each division engineer shall order the release from storage of any water he finds to have been illegally or improperly stored and shall make such orders as are necessary to insure that such released waters are delivered to those owners or users of water rights who are entitled to the same and to insure that the release will not cause damage.

(4) Each division engineer with the approval of the state engineer shall administer the movement of water involved in any plan for augmentation or water use project which is in effect in his division. If any such plan or project involves the movement of water from one division to another, then the administration of such movement shall be the direct responsibility of the state engineer, but he may act through the appropriate division engineers. In such administration the division engineers and the state engineer shall issue such orders as are necessary and appropriate and may utilize any funds, public or private, and any other resources made available to them. Each plan for augmentation shall be administered to accomplish the maximum economic use of and benefit from the water which may be available or developed for such administration if persons owning, or entitled to use water under, water rights or conditional water rights will not be injuriously affected thereby.

(5) (a) The state engineer and the division engineers have authority to order any owner or user of a water right to install and maintain at such owner's or user's expense necessary meters, gauges, or other measuring devices and to report at reasonable times to the appropriate division engineer the readings of such meters, gauges, or other measuring devices.

(b) The state engineer and the division engineers have authority to order any person or company supplying energy used to pump groundwater to provide, at reasonable times to the appropriate division engineer, records of energy used to pump groundwater. Nothing contained in this paragraph (b) shall affect any reporting requirements of the public utilities commission pursuant to section 40-3-110, C.R.S.

(c) Repealed.

(6) The state engineer and the division engineers and their duly authorized assistants and staff have the authority and duty to enter upon, and to order any person to permit the entry upon, private property at any reasonable time to inspect the various means or proposed means of diversion, transportation, and storage and the uses to which water is being, or is proposed to be, put and to read meters, gauges, and other measuring devices.

(7) The state engineer, division engineer, and their duly authorized assistants have the power and duty to issue orders so that the streams of the state may be kept clear of unnecessary dams or other obstructions which may restrict or impede the flow of water to the water users of the state.
C.R.S. § 37-21-121 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 21 / Section 37-21-121
37-21-121. Canvass of returns
Status: in_force

37-21-121. Canvass of returns. The board of directors shall meet at the office of the drainage district on the first Monday after an election and canvass the returns. If at the time of the meeting the returns have been received from all the precincts, the board of directors shall proceed to canvass the returns. If returns have not been received from all precincts, the canvass shall be postponed from day to day until the returns have all been received or until six postponements have been made. The canvass shall be made in public by opening the returns and counting the votes of the district for each person voted for and for or against each question submitted at such election and declaring the results thereof. The board shall declare elected the person receiving the highest number of votes for each office and shall declare the result of the vote on any question submitted to the voters.
C.R.S. § 37-85-104 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 85 / Section 37-85-104
37-85-104. Commissioners to appoint day for hearing
Status: in_force

37-85-104. Commissioners to appoint day for hearing. Every board of county commissioners, upon examination of such affidavit, or from the oaths of witnesses in addition thereto, if it finds that the facts sworn to show the application to be in good faith, and that there are reasonable grounds to believe that unjust rates of compensation are or are likely to be charged or demanded for water from such ditch, canal, conduit, or reservoir, shall enter an order fixing a day not sooner than twenty days thereafter nor later than the third day of the next regular session of the board, when they will hear all parties interested in such ditch, or other waterworks, or parties interested in procuring water therefrom for any of the said uses, as well as all documentary or oral evidence or depositions, taken according to law, touching the said ditch or other work and the cost of furnishing water therefrom.
C.R.S. § 37-5-101 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 5 / Section 37-5-101
37-5-101. Funds
Status: in_force

37-5-101. Funds. (1) The moneys of every conservancy district organized under articles 1 to 8 of this title shall consist of the following separate funds:

(a) "Preliminary funds" means the proceeds of the level rate assessment authorized by section 37-5-102.

(b) "Construction fund" means the proceeds of levies made against the special benefits appraised, equalized, and confirmed under the provisions of articles 1 to 8 of this title.

(c) "Maintenance fund" means the proceeds of a special assessment to be levied annually for the purpose of upkeep, administration, and current expenses as provided in said articles. Moneys received by the district from any other source shall be placed in any fund which the board of directors orders.

(2) No vouchers shall be drawn against the preliminary fund or against the maintenance fund until an assessment levying resolution has been properly passed by the board of directors and duly entered upon its records. No bonds shall be issued against the construction fund until an assessment levying resolution has been properly passed by the board of directors and duly entered upon its records and until the property owners have been given an opportunity for a period of not less than sixty days to pay in cash the assessment so levied against their respective properties.
C.R.S. § 37-47-122 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 47 / Section 37-47-122
37-47-122. Directors to remedy defects in assessments
Status: in_force

37-47-122. Directors to remedy defects in assessments. If any assessment made under the provisions of this article proves invalid, the board of directors shall, by subsequent or amended acts or proceedings, promptly and without delay remedy all defects or irregularities, as the case may require, by making and providing for the collection of new assessments, or otherwise.
C.R.S. § 37-41-153 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 41 / Section 37-41-153
37-41-153. Notice of hearing
Status: in_force

37-41-153. 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 the county where the office of the district is situated. 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 in the proceedings for the issue or sale of said bonds or in the making of a contract with the United States, 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 .............. irrigation district (giving its name), praying that the proceedings for the issue and sale of said bonds of said district, or that the proceedings for the authorization of a contract with the United States and the validity thereof, may be examined, approved, and confirmed by the court.
C.R.S. § 37-41-157 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 41 / Section 37-41-157
37-41-157. President to execute deeds
Status: in_force

37-41-157. President to execute deeds. The president of the board of directors of any such irrigation district, when authorized by resolution of the board of directors, is empowered to execute, acknowledge, and deliver all deeds of conveyance necessary to convey such property to the purchaser thereof, such deed of conveyance to be attested by the secretary of such irrigation district under its seal, and when so executed such deed of conveyance shall be held to convey the entire title of such irrigation district to the purchaser thereof.
C.R.S. § 37-84-107 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 84 / Section 37-84-107
37-84-107. Owner of ditch must prevent waste
Status: in_force

37-84-107. Owner of ditch must prevent waste. The owner of any irrigating or mill ditch shall carefully maintain and keep the embankments thereof in good repair and prevent the water from wasting.
C.R.S. § 37-46-111 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 46 / Section 37-46-111
37-46-111. Rules and regulations
Status: in_force

37-46-111. Rules and regulations. The district has the power to make general rules and regulations for the conduct of its business, as well as the conduct of the business of any subdistrict therein, and by such rules and regulations may provide for the rental of water or other services which are to be furnished by said subdistrict, to any municipality, public irrigation district, or irrigation district, or other quasi-municipal corporation in this state, and to make contracts for the payment of the rental to be charged for any such water or services.
C.R.S. § 37-80-123 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 80 / Section 37-80-123
37-80-123. Lease, loan, or trade of agricultural water protection water right - rules - def
Status: in_force

37-80-123. Lease, loan, or trade of agricultural water protection water right - rules - definition. (1) (a) As soon as practicable, the state engineer shall initiate the promulgation of rules governing the review of a substitute water supply plan pursuant to section 37-92-308 (12). In promulgating the rules, the state engineer shall follow the state engineer's own rule-making procedures.

(b) The rules must include:

(I) Terms and conditions that the state engineer may impose through an approved substitute water supply plan pursuant to section 37-92-308 (12);

(II) Criteria that the state engineer should consider in reviewing a substitute water supply plan application filed pursuant to section 37-92-308 (12);

(III) Criteria to ensure that substitute water supply plans approved pursuant to section 37-92-308 (12) do not facilitate the diversion of water between water divisions by direct diversion, exchange, replacement, or other means;

(IV) Procedures by which the state engineer may reconsider a decision; and

(V) Procedures for creating a database that tracks and inventories substitute water supply plans approved under section 37-92-308 (12) and for making the following information from the database accessible to the public:

(A) The amount of water subject to each approved plan;

(B) The location of use of water under each approved plan; and

(C) The decreed beneficial use of water leased, loaned, or traded in connection with each approved plan.

(c) The water judge for water division 1 shall review the rules promulgated under this section in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 37-92-501 (2)(g), (3)(a), and (3)(b).

(2) 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. § 37-86-113 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 86 / Section 37-86-113
37-86-113. Irrigation of meadows
Status: in_force

37-86-113. Irrigation of meadows. All persons who have enjoyed the use of the water in any natural stream for the irrigation of any meadow land by the natural overflow or operation of the water of such stream, in case the diminishing of the water supplied by such stream, from any cause, prevents such irrigation therefrom in as ample a manner as formerly, shall have right to construct a ditch for the irrigation of such meadow and to take water from such stream therefor. Their right to water through such ditch shall have the same priority as though such ditch had been constructed at the time they first occupied and used such land as meadow ground.
C.R.S. § 37-80-109 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 80 / Section 37-80-109
37-80-109. State engineer's authority to contract for services
Status: in_force

37-80-109. State engineer's authority to contract for services. (1) The state engineer shall secure the limited or temporary services of persons necessary to carry out the duties or functions of the division of water resources in cases where it would be infeasible or impractical for regular state employees to perform the duties or functions, especially in the following instances:

(a) In which work is of such a nature as to require special training or aptitudes and is of such limited application that the full-time regular employment normally expected of state employees would be unduly expensive;

(b) In nonrecurring situations of limited duration in which the situation can be concluded within a reasonable time by special assistants but could not be concluded without such assistance;

(c) To meet emergencies that reasonable foresight could not have anticipated; and

(d) To furnish services that the state engineer may require of persons who deal with the state engineer's office and who will fully reimburse the state engineer for the services.

(2) Whenever there are more hearings or determinations before the state engineer and the division engineers than can be acted upon promptly, the state engineer shall employ and maintain adequate personnel to assist the state engineer and the division engineers in arriving at required determinations. Regular employees may provide such assistance or, in cases falling within the purview of subsection (1) of this section, temporary employees on a contract basis may provide such assistance.

(3) In the same manner provided for in subsection (2) of this section, the state engineer may employ and maintain personnel to adequately staff any water conservation project provided for by law.

(4) The state engineer shall employ and maintain appropriate personnel for keeping records and making investigations respecting the performance of the functions of the state engineer's office and shall provide similar personnel in the office of each division engineer to function under the general direction of the office.
C.R.S. § 37-42-101 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 42 / Section 37-42-101
37-42-101. Petition for organization - schedule - bond
Status: in_force

37-42-101. Petition for organization - schedule - bond. Whenever the landowners of any prescribed area within the state of Colorado desire to organize an irrigation district for the purposes named in this article, they may propose such organization by presenting to the board of county commissioners of the county within which said area, or the greater part thereof, lies a petition praying such organization, signed by a majority of such landowners, whether resident or not, owning in the aggregate a majority of the acreage of such area so proposed to be organized. Such petition shall contain a definite description by metes and bounds of the area included within the exterior boundaries of said proposed district and a description by legal subdivisions of the area proposed to be organized, together with a statement of the purposes of organization and the property and rights proposed to be acquired or constructed, and shall name a resident of the county of proposed organization as agent for the proposers of organization, who shall act as their representative until such time as organization has been completed. Accompanying this petition, a schedule shall be filed showing by legal subdivisions, with acreage, the land owned by each signer and the total acreage of the proposed district, together with a map of the proposed district and the proposed system for its irrigation or reclamation, drawn to such scale and in the manner required by such rules as are promulgated by the state engineer for such purpose. These instruments shall be accompanied by a bond approved by the board of county commissioners in such amount as it shall fix, conditioned that all costs of inspection and organization shall be paid by the bondsmen in case organization is not effected. Copies of all instruments and maps filed with the board of county commissioners under this article shall also be filed with the state engineer.
C.R.S. § 37-42-123 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 42 / Section 37-42-123
37-42-123. Rescission of action authorizing bonds
Status: in_force

37-42-123. Rescission of action authorizing bonds. If the landowners of an irrigation district desire to rescind their action authorizing an issue of bonds, they may do so as to any such entire issue remaining unsold in the hands of the board of directors in the same manner as such issue was authorized and upon an affirmative vote of the majority of the total voting strength of the district, whereupon the board of directors shall cancel or destroy said bonds and shall enter that fact, reciting the numbers of such bonds so canceled or destroyed, in the minutes of their proceedings.
C.R.S. § 37-47-110 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 47 / Section 37-47-110
37-47-110. Creation of subdistricts
Status: in_force

37-47-110. Creation of subdistricts. (1) Notwithstanding the organization of the district provided for in this article, public irrigation districts organized under article 4 of chapter 149, CRS 53, and irrigation districts organized under articles 41 and 42 of this title, and any other form or organization designed or intended to acquire, construct, or maintain reservoirs, ditches, and similar works for irrigation or other beneficial purposes under any law of the state of Colorado or of the United States, may be organized to cover and include areas within the southwestern water conservation district and may likewise embrace territory within that district and partly out of the district. Whenever in their opinion such form of organization will help promote the local interests or accomplish improvements for any part of said district, the board of directors may recommend the organization of any such type of organization.

(2) In addition to such forms of organization, whenever in the opinion of the board of directors of said district it is feasible and necessary that ditches, canals, reservoirs, or other works which benefit only a part of the district should be constructed, a local improvement district or subdivision, or as many of such local improvement districts as may be necessary, may be created. Such local improvement district, when organized under the provisions of this article, shall be designated as "Water Users' Association No. .... in the Southwestern Water Conservation District", or as "Special Improvement District No. .... in the Southwestern Water Conservation District". Each subdistrict shall be numbered consecutively as created or organized. The board of directors, the engineers, attorneys, secretary, and other officers, agents, and employees of the district, so far as it may be necessary, shall serve in the same capacity for such subdivision or subdistricts. A contract and agreement between the main district and the subdistrict may be made in the same manner as contracts and agreements between two districts.
C.R.S. § 37-87-103 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 87 / Section 37-87-103
37-87-103. Notice of release of stored water
Status: in_force

37-87-103. Notice of release of stored water. The owner of a reservoir who uses the reservoir for water storage shall give reasonable notice to the division engineer of the division in which the reservoir is located of the date on which the reservoir owner desires to release stored water into any natural streams, together with the amount to be released in cubic feet per second, the duration of the releases, and the name of the structure or other location to which the water released from storage is to be delivered, to allow the water officials in charge of any stream into which the stored water is released to make and record the necessary measurements of flow and storage and to provide for a proper patrol of the stream, for the protection of the reservoir owner and all other appropriators along the stream whose interests might be affected as a result of the reservoir release.
C.R.S. § 37-80-110 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 80 / Section 37-80-110
37-80-110. Fees collected by state engineer
Status: repealed

37-80-110. Fees collected by state engineer. (1) The state engineer shall collect fees for work done in his or her office as follows:

(a) to (d) Repealed.

(e) With respect to a proposed project for a dam, for the examination and filing of each set of plans and specifications required by law to be filed in the office of the state engineer, six dollars for each one thousand dollars or fraction thereof of the estimated cost of a proposed project; but the total amount of fees for examination and filing of each set of plans and specifications must not be less than one hundred dollars nor more than thirty thousand dollars;

(f) to (h) Repealed.

(i) For rating any pipe, ditch, canal, or reservoir inlet or outlet, at the request of the owner or of any agent or employee having control of the pipe, ditch, canal, or reservoir inlet or outlet, seventy-five dollars.

(2) Repealed.
C.R.S. § 37-80-111 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 80 / Section 37-80-111
37-80-111. Fees deposited with department of the treasury
Status: in_force

37-80-111. Fees deposited with department of the treasury. At the end of each month, the sum of the fees collected during the month, as provided in section 37-80-110, shall be transmitted to the department of the treasury with a complete statement showing the amounts thus received and the sources from which they are derived, and the said amounts shall be credited to the general fund.
C.R.S. § 37-45-127 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 45 / Section 37-45-127
37-45-127. Objections to assessments - appeal
Status: in_force

37-45-127. Objections to assessments - appeal. (1) Prior to October 1 of each year in which assessments are made, the board shall appoint a time and place where it will meet within the district for the purpose of hearing objections to assessments, and prior notice of such hearing shall be given by publication in two issues, a week apart, in some newspaper of general circulation published in each county; except that, if there is any county in the district in which there is no newspaper published, such notice shall be published in an adjoining county. Said notice shall notify the owners of property in the district that in the secretary's office may be found and examined a description of the property so assessed, the amount of the assessment thereon fixed by the board, and the time and place fixed by the board for the hearing of objections to such assessments. It shall not be necessary for said notice to contain separate descriptions of the lots or tracts of real estate, but it is sufficient if the notice contains such descriptions as will inform the owner whether or not his real estate is covered by such descriptions, and to inform the owner where can be found of record the amount of assessments.

(2) If, in the opinion of any person whose property is assessed, his property has been assessed too high, or has been erroneously or illegally assessed, at any time before the date of such hearing, he may file written objections to such assessments, stating the grounds of such objections, which statement shall be verified by the affidavit of said person or his agent. In such hearing the board shall hear such evidence and arguments as may be offered concerning the correctness or legality of such assessment and may modify or amend the same.

(3) Any owner of property desiring to appeal from the findings of the board as to assessment, within thirty days from the finding of the board, shall file with the clerk of the court a written notice making demand for trial by the court. The appellant at the same time shall file a bond with good and sufficient security to be approved by the clerk of said court in a sum not exceeding two hundred dollars to the effect that, if the finding of the court is not more favorable to the appellant than the finding of the board, the appellant shall pay the cost of the appeal. The appellant shall state definitely from what part of the order the appeal is taken. In case more than one appeal is taken, upon its showing that the same may be consolidated without injury to the interests of anyone, the court may consolidate and try the same together.

(4) The court shall not disturb the findings of the board unless the findings of the board in any case are manifestly disproportionate to the assessments imposed upon other property in the district created under this article. The trial shall be to the court, and the matter shall take precedence before the court and shall be taken up as promptly as may be after the appeal is filed. If no appeal is taken from the findings of the board within the time prescribed in this section, or after the findings of the court in case an appeal is taken from the findings of the board, then the assessment shall be final and conclusive evidence that said assessments have been made in proportion to the benefits conferred upon the property in said district by reason of the improvements to be constructed under the provisions of this article, and such assessments shall constitute a perpetual lien upon such property so assessed until paid.
C.R.S. § 37-44-122 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 44 / Section 37-44-122
37-44-122. Assessment book
Status: in_force

37-44-122. Assessment book. The secretary of the board of directors shall deliver the assessment book duly certified together with a copy of the order of the board of directors, levying said assessment, to the district treasurer of said internal improvement district.
C.R.S. § 37-85-110 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 85 / Section 37-85-110
37-85-110. Penalty for refusal to deliver water
Status: in_force

37-85-110. Penalty for refusal to deliver water. Every person owning or controlling, or claiming to own or control, any ditch, canal, or reservoir, such as is mentioned in section 37-85-108, who, after demand in writing made upon the person for the supply or delivery of water for irrigation, mining, milling, or domestic purposes, to be delivered from the canal, ditch, or reservoir, owned, possessed, or controlled by the person, and after tender of the lawful rate of compensation therefor in lawful money, refuses to furnish or carry and deliver from such ditch, canal, or reservoir any water so applied for, which water may be by use of reasonable diligence in that behalf and, within the carrying or storage capacity of such ditch, canal, or reservoir, be lawfully furnished and delivered without infringement of prior rights commits a class 2 misdemeanor.
C.R.S. § 37-41-103 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 41 / Section 37-41-103
37-41-103. Presentation and allowance of petition
Status: in_force

37-41-103. Presentation and allowance of petition. (1) When such petition is presented and it appears that the notice of the presentation of said petition has been given as required by section 37-41-102 (3) and that said petition has been signed by the requisite number of petitioners as required by this article, the board of county commissioners shall then proceed to define the boundaries of said proposed district from said petition and from such applications for the exclusion of lands therefrom and the inclusion of lands therein as may be made in accordance with the intent of this article. They may adjourn such examination from time to time, not exceeding three weeks in all, and by final order, duly entered, shall define and establish the boundaries of such proposed district; except that said board of county commissioners shall not modify such proposed boundaries described in the petition so as to change the objects of said petition or so as to exempt from the operation of this article any land within the boundaries proposed by the petition susceptible to irrigation by the same system of waterworks applicable to other lands in such proposed district; nor shall any land which will not in the judgment of the board be benefited by such proposed system be included in such district if the owner thereof makes application at a hearing to withdraw the same; also except that contiguous lands not included in said proposed district as described in the petition, upon application of the owners, may be included in such district upon such hearing.

(2) When the boundaries of any proposed district have been examined and defined, the board of county commissioners shall forthwith make an order allowing the prayer of said petition, defining and establishing the boundaries, and designating the name of such proposed district. Thereupon said board, by further order duly entered upon its record, shall call an election of the qualified electors of said district to be held for the purpose of determining whether such district shall be organized under the conditions of this article and, by such order, shall submit the names of one or more persons from each of the three divisions of said district to be voted for as directors therein. For the purposes of said election, the board of county commissioners shall divide said district into three divisions as nearly equal in size as may be practicable and shall provide that a qualified elector of each of said three divisions shall be elected as a member of the board of directors of said district by the qualified electors of the whole district.

(3) Each of said divisions shall constitute an election precinct, and three judges shall be appointed for each of such precincts, one of whom shall act as clerk of said election. In the hearing of any such petition the board of county commissioners shall disregard any informality therein, and, in case it denies the same or dismisses it for any reason on account of the provisions of this article not having been complied with, which are the only reasons upon which it shall have a right to refuse or dismiss the same, the board shall state its reasons in writing therefor in detail, which shall be entered upon its record. In case these reasons are not well founded, upon proper application therefor, an order in the nature of mandamus shall issue out of the district court of said county, compelling the board to act in compliance with this article, which order shall be heard within twenty days from the date of its issuance and which twenty days shall be excluded from the forty days given the board of county commissioners to act upon said petition. The officers of such district shall consist of three directors, a secretary, and a treasurer.
C.R.S. § 37-6-104 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 6 / Section 37-6-104
37-6-104. Remedy for injury by a district
Status: in_force

37-6-104. Remedy for injury by a district. (1) In case any person or public corporation, within or without any district organized under articles 1 to 8 of this title, may be injuriously affected with respect to property rights in any manner whatsoever by any act performed by any official or agent of such district, or by the execution, maintenance, or operation of the official plan, and except as otherwise provided in article 10 of title 24, C.R.S., and in case no other method of relief is offered under articles 1 to 8 of this title, the remedy shall be as follows: The person or public corporation seeking relief shall petition the court before which said district was organized for an appraisal of damages sufficient to compensate for such injuries. The court shall thereupon direct the board of appraisers of the district to appraise said damages and injuries and to make a report to the court on or before the time named in the order of the court. Upon the filing of such report, the court shall cause notice to be given to the petitioner and to the directors of the district of a hearing on said report. At the time of such hearing, the court shall consider said report of said appraisers and may ratify said report or amend it as the court may deem equitable or may return it to the said board of appraisers and require them to prepare a new report. Upon the filing of an order of the court approving said report of said appraisers, with such modifications as it may have made, said order shall constitute a final adjudication of the matter, unless it is appealed in the manner provided in this article, within twenty days.

(2) Appeal from said order to a jury may be had as provided in this article, in case of condemnation proceedings, by the petitioners, by the directors of the district, or by any person or corporation adversely affected by the report of the appraisers. No damages shall be allowed under this section which would not otherwise be allowed by law; but nothing in this section shall be construed to deprive any person or public corporation of the remedy of injunction in the case of prospective irreparable injury.
C.R.S. § 37-41-112 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 41 / Section 37-41-112
37-41-112. Records - vacancy and term of office
Status: in_force

37-41-112. Records - vacancy and term of office. (1) The secretary of the board of directors, as soon as the result of any election held under the provisions of this article is declared, shall enter in the records of such board and file with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the office of said district is located a statement of such results, which statement shall show:

(a) A copy of the publication notice of said election;

(b) The names of the judges of said election;

(c) The whole number of votes cast in the district and in each precinct of the district;

(d) The names of the persons voted for;

(e) The offices voted for;

(f) The number of votes given in each precinct for each of such persons;

(g) The number of votes given in the district for each of such persons;

(h) The names of the persons declared elected;

(i) The result declared on any question submitted in accordance with the majority of the votes cast for or against such question.

(2) The board of directors shall declare elected the person having the highest number of votes given for each office and also the result of any question submitted. The secretary shall immediately make out and deliver to such person a certificate of election, signed by him and authenticated with the seal of the board. In case of a vacancy in the board of directors by death, removal, or inability from any cause to properly discharge the duties as such director, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the board, and, upon their failure or inability to act within thirty days after such vacancy occurs, then, upon petition of five electors of said district, the board of county commissioners of the county where the office of said board of directors is situate shall fill such vacancy. Any director so appointed shall hold his office until the next general election of said district and until his successor is elected and qualified.
C.R.S. § 37-44-118 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 44 / Section 37-44-118
37-44-118. Modification of classification
Status: in_force

37-44-118. Modification of classification. The board of directors shall modify such classification so that the same conforms to the changes made therein in the hearings before said board, and the secretary of the district shall certify and file said classification of property of the district so modified, properly tabulated or shown by a map or both, with the county clerk and recorder of each county into which said district extends. If on appeal said classification is modified, the board shall then modify the classification, and the secretary of the district shall certify and file the same with the clerk of each county in which the district is located.
C.R.S. § 37-45-129 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 45 / Section 37-45-129
37-45-129. Sale for delinquencies
Status: in_force

37-45-129. Sale for delinquencies. (1) Before July 1, 2024, if the taxes or assessments levied are not paid, then the real property shall be sold at the regular tax sale for the payment of said taxes and assessments, interest, and penalties in the manner provided by the statutes of the state of Colorado for selling property for payment of general taxes. If there are no bids at said tax sale for the property so offered under class A and class B, said property shall be struck off to the county, and the county shall account to the district in the same manner as provided by law for accounting for school, town, and city taxes. If there are no bids for the property so offered under class C and class D, said property shall be struck off to the district, and the tax certificate shall be issued in the name of the district, and the board shall have the same power with reference to sale of said tax certificate as vested in county commissioners and county treasurers when property is struck off to the counties.

(2) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, on or after July 1, 2024, a water conservancy district 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 striking off of property or the issuance of a tax certificate 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 a county or water conservancy district and a county treasurer shall not issue a tax certificate or tax deed 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. § 37-44-140 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 44 / Section 37-44-140
37-44-140. Expenses of organization
Status: in_force

37-44-140. Expenses of organization. For the purpose of defraying the expenses of the organization of the district, and the repair, operation, management, and improvement of all reservoirs, inlet works, outlet works, drainage works, canals, and works for the protection of life and property from floods, washing, and inundation, including salaries of officers and employees, the board may provide, in whole or in part, for the payment of such expenditures by levy of assessments therefor as provided in section 37-44-119, if the money raised by the sale of bonds issued is insufficient. In case bonds are unavailable for the completion of the plans of works adopted, the board of directors may provide for the completion of said plans by levy of an assessment therefor in the same manner in which levy of assessments is made for other purposes.
C.R.S. § 37-60-120.2 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 60 / Part 1 / Section 37-60-120.2
37-60-120.2. Animas-La Plata project - authority - repeal
Status: repealed

37-60-120.2. Animas-La Plata project - authority - repeal. (1) Notwithstanding any other law, including section 24-30-1303, C.R.S., and given that thirty-six million dollars have been authorized and appropriated and a purchase agreement has been executed with the United States bureau of reclamation to acquire all of the state's water allocation in the Animas-La Plata project and that the state is a participating member of the Animas-La Plata operation, maintenance, and replacement association, and in order to support and provide long-term water supplies for the local area and to fully utilize the state's water allocation in the Animas-La Plata project, in coordination with the United States bureau of reclamation and the other participating project beneficiaries, the department of natural resources, acting by and through the board, may:

(a) Contract with and allocate Animas-La Plata project water to local entities and water providers in Colorado;

(b) Receive and expend proceeds from the sale or lease of Animas-La Plata project water and land, and any other activities that effectuate the purpose of the acquired project water;

(c) Undertake Animas-La Plata project operations, maintenance, and replacement costs;

(d) Pay the costs of Animas-La Plata project storage or other necessary expenses, otherwise implement the purposes of this subsection (1), and fully utilize the water and storage acquired; and

(e) Undertake such action as necessary to lease, sublease, exchange, sell, assign, or otherwise effectuate the use of the acquired project water in the local area within Colorado.

(2) The state treasurer shall credit all proceeds received under this section and the interest earned from investments of those proceeds to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund created in section 37-60-121 (1)(a), and all such money is continuously appropriated to the board and remains available for the designated purposes until it is fully expended.

(3) (a) In the event of a conflict between the application of state or federal law or rules, including chapter 3 of the state fiscal rules in existence as of June 7, 2010, regarding the money subject to this section, federal law and rules apply.

(b) Nothing in this section precludes the use of water acquired pursuant to this section as part of a joint operational pool for the mutual benefit of all Animas-La Plata project participants.

(4) This section is repealed, effective when the state has no water allocation in the Animas-La Plata project, is not a member of the Animas-La Plata operation, maintenance, and replacement association, and all existing purchases, leases, subleases, or any other of the contractual arrangements that have been executed on behalf of the state's water allocation, have been fully repaid or fulfilled. The director of the board shall file a written notification to the revisor of statutes when the final condition of this subsection (4) has been fulfilled.
C.R.S. § 37-44-129 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 44 / Section 37-44-129
37-44-129. Voters to appoint judges if necessary
Status: in_force

37-44-129. Voters to appoint judges if necessary. 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 supply the places of those absent.
C.R.S. § 37-45.1-106 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 45.1 / Section 37-45.1-106
37-45.1-106. Contracts
Status: in_force

37-45.1-106. Contracts. (1) A district or its water activity enterprise may contract with the Colorado water conservation board or any other governmental source of funding for loans and grants related to water activity enterprise functions, and a district or its water activity enterprise may contract with the Colorado water resources and power development authority for loans or other available financial assistance related to water activity enterprise functions.

(2) Revenues collected by a district for services rendered by a water activity enterprise which it owns, including but not limited to the revenues raised by rates on each class of service under article 45, 46, 47, or 48 of this title, are not subject to the limitations of subsections (4) and (7) of section 20 of article X of the state constitution.

(3) The rates or a change in the rates charged by a district for its water activity enterprise services, including the provision of water, capacity of project works, materials, or other water activities provided by or through the water activity enterprise, shall not be deemed a tax subject to the limitations of section 20 (4) and (7) of article X of the state constitution.

(4) A district or its water activity enterprise may contract with any other person, including a district or a water activity enterprise of another district, for the use of water or a water project or facility, which contract may contain provisions specified in section 31-35-402 (1)(h) as determined by the district or water activity enterprise.
C.R.S. § 37-91-101 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 91 / Section 37-91-101
37-91-101. Legislative declaration
Status: in_force

37-91-101. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that:

(a) It has been established by scientific evidence that improperly constructed wells, improperly abandoned wells, and improperly installed pumping equipment can adversely affect groundwater resources and the public health, safety, and welfare; and

(b) Therefore, the proper location, construction, repair, and abandonment of wells, the proper installation and repair of pumping equipment, the licensing and regulation of persons engaging in the business of contracting either for the construction of wells or for the installation of pumping equipment, and the periodic inspection of well construction and pump installation are essential for the protection of the public health and the preservation of groundwater resources.
C.R.S. § 37-88-110 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 88 / Section 37-88-110
37-88-110. Monument lake dam and reservoir - transfer of title - ownership and control
Status: in_force

37-88-110. Monument lake dam and reservoir - transfer of title - ownership and control. (1) Upon completion of the repair described in subsection (2) of this section, the governor is hereby authorized to execute a deed of conveyance to the town of Monument of all the right, title, and interest of the state of Colorado in and to the structure known as Monument lake dam located in El Paso county.

(2) The transfer of title to Monument lake dam pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall not occur until such time as the dam is repaired to the satisfaction of the state engineer's office and other governmental entities with applicable jurisdiction. The town of Monument and El Paso county are jointly responsible for financing the repair of Monument lake dam and are authorized to apply for financial assistance from the Colorado water resources and power development authority established in article 95 of this title, the Colorado water conservation board established in article 60 of this title, and from any other appropriate state, federal, or private source.

(3) As there are no adjudicated water rights to Monument lake reservoir, upon the transfer of title to Monument lake dam pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the town of Monument may acquire and assume the duties and responsibilities relating to the storage of water in Monument lake reservoir.

(4) Upon the transfer of title to Monument lake dam pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the town of Monument shall assume all liability and responsibility relating to the control, management, and maintenance of Monument lake dam and reservoir, and at such time the board of county commissioners of El Paso county shall be relieved from all responsibilities relating to Monument lake reservoir pursuant to section 37-88-109.
C.R.S. § 37-21-124 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 21 / Section 37-21-124
37-21-124. Certificate of election
Status: in_force

37-21-124. Certificate of election. The secretary shall forthwith deliver to each person elected a certificate of election, signed by the secretary and authenticated with the seal of the drainage district.
C.R.S. § 37-90.5-105 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 90.5 / Section 37-90.5-105
37-90.5-105. Access - reasonable accommodation
Status: reserved

37-90.5-105. Access - reasonable accommodation. (1) Geothermal leases may be awarded by the state board of land commissioners for lands under its jurisdiction through negotiation or by competitive bidding, but no such lease may be awarded prior to a public notice period of thirty-five days.

(2) Where the property right to a severable geothermal resource has been severed, reserved, or transferred with the subsurface estate, its owner may enter upon the overlying surface parcel at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner to prospect for and produce the energy from such resource, if adequate compensation is paid to the owner of the surface parcel for damages and disturbance in accordance with subsection (3) of this section. This right of entry shall not include the right to construct surface utilization facilities, and such facilities may be constructed only upon agreement with the surface owner in accordance with subsection (3) of this section.

(3) (a) (I) A developer of any type of geothermal resource shall develop the resource in a manner that accommodates the surface owner by minimizing intrusion upon and damage to the surface of the land.

(II) As used in this section, "minimizing intrusion upon and damage to the surface" means selecting alternative locations for wells, roads, pipelines, or heat exchange or generation facilities, or employing alternative means of operation, that prevent, reduce, or mitigate the impacts of the geothermal development on the surface, where such alternatives are technologically sound, economically practicable, and reasonably available to the developer.

(III) The standard of conduct set forth in this subsection (3) does not prevent a developer from entering upon and using that amount of the surface as is reasonable and necessary to explore for and develop the geothermal resource.

(IV) The standard of conduct set forth in this subsection (3) does not abrogate or impair a contractual provision that is binding on the parties and that expressly provides for the use of the surface for the development of geothermal resources or that releases the developer from liability for the use of the surface.

(b) A geothermal resource developer's failure to meet the requirements set forth in this subsection (3) or, if applicable, subsection (2) of this section, gives rise to a cause of action by the surface owner. Upon a determination by the trier of fact that such failure has occurred, a surface owner may seek compensatory damages or such equitable relief as is consistent with paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) or, if applicable, subsection (2) of this section.

(c) (I) In any litigation or arbitration based upon subsection (2) of this section or paragraph (a) of this subsection (3), the surface owner shall present evidence that the developer's use of the surface materially interfered with the surface owner's use of the surface of the land. After such showing, the developer bears the burden of proof of showing that it met the standard set out in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) and, if applicable, subsection (2) of this section. If a developer makes that showing, the surface owner may present rebuttal evidence.

(II) An operator may assert, as an affirmative defense, that it has conducted geothermal resource development in accordance with a regulatory requirement, contractual obligation, or land use plan provision that specifically applies to the alleged intrusion or damage.

(d) Nothing in this section:

(I) Precludes or impairs any person from obtaining any and all other remedies allowed by law;

(II) Prevents a developer and a surface owner from addressing the use of the surface for geothermal resource development in a lease, surface use agreement, or other written contract; or

(III) Establishes, alters, impairs, or negates the authority of local and county governments to regulate land use related to geothermal resource development.
C.R.S. § 37-31-111 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 31 / Section 37-31-111
37-31-111. Judges of election
Status: in_force

37-31-111. Judges of election. The board of directors shall appoint three judges of election in each precinct, each of whom shall be a qualified elector residing within said precinct.
C.R.S. § 37-41-137 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 41 / Section 37-41-137
37-41-137. Inclusion or rejection of lands - protest
Status: in_force

37-41-137. Inclusion or rejection of lands - protest. The board of directors if it deems it not for the best interests of the district to include therein the lands mentioned in the petition, by order, shall reject the petition, but if it deems it for the best interests of the district that said lands be included, the board may order that the district be so changed as to include therein the lands mentioned in the said petition. The order shall describe the entire boundaries of the district with the lands so included, if the district boundaries are changed thereby, and for that purpose the board may cause a survey to be made of such portion of such boundaries as may be deemed necessary. 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 inclusion of such lands in said district, said order shall be held for naught, and such lands shall not be included therein. In the case of inclusion of government land according to the provisions of section 37-41-113, said protest must be made within thirty days of the date of the execution of the contract provided for in said section.
C.R.S. § 37-43-128 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 43 / Part 1 / Section 37-43-128
37-43-128. Sale
Status: in_force

37-43-128. Sale. The sale may be made to any person or to a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Colorado, or may be made to the United States, but no sale of water rights shall in any manner impair or be deemed to relinquish any of the sovereign rights of the state of Colorado in the waters of the state or to control and regulate the diversion, use, and distribution thereof.
C.R.S. § 37-75-105 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 75 / Section 37-75-105
37-75-105. Interbasin compact committee - report
Status: in_force

37-75-105. Interbasin compact committee - report. (1) (a) To facilitate the process of interbasin compact negotiations, a twenty-seven-member interbasin compact committee is created. The interbasin compact committee includes the following members:

(I) Two representatives from each basin roundtable, at least one of whom must reside within the borders of the roundtable and at least one of whom must own adjudicated water rights, including owners of shares in a ditch or reservoir company or their agents. Any such agent shall be appointed by the representative the agent represents and must reside within the borders of the representative's roundtable.

(II) Six at-large members appointed by the governor. The governor's appointments must come from geographically diverse parts of the state and must include individuals with expertise in environmental, recreational, local governmental, industrial, or agricultural matters. No more than three of the governor's appointees may be affiliated with the same political party.

(III) One member appointed by the chair of the house agriculture, livestock, and water committee, or its successor committee;

(IV) One member appointed by the chair of the senate agriculture and natural resources committee, or its successor committee; and

(V) The director of compact negotiations.

(b) As soon as practicable following June 7, 2005, the committee shall establish bylaws to govern its actions, including a procedure whereby basin roundtables that opt out of the procedures established in this article are no longer represented on the committee but may opt back in.

(2) (a) Not later than July 1, 2006, the interbasin compact committee shall establish and refer to the general assembly an interbasin compact charter that shall govern and guide all negotiations between basin roundtables under this article. Upon receipt, consideration, and approval of the charter by the general assembly acting by bill, negotiations between basin roundtables may commence. Any compact or other agreement established using the procedures established in this article shall fully comply with the terms, requirements, and procedures established in the interbasin compact charter as approved pursuant to this subsection (2).

(b) The general assembly hereby approves the interbasin compact charter as submitted to the general assembly on April 6, 2006, by the interbasin compact committee. The revisor of statutes shall publish the full text of the charter in the Colorado Revised Statutes as nonstatutory matter in accordance with section 2-5-102 (9), C.R.S.

(3) At a minimum, the interbasin compact charter shall include the following:

(a) A negotiating framework and foundational principles to guide voluntary negotiations between basin roundtables, including present and future consumptive and nonconsumptive water uses and such policies as may be necessary to ensure that compacts or other agreements between roundtables do not conflict or otherwise not conform with one another;

(b) Subject to the principles established in section 37-75-102, procedures for ratifying compacts or other agreements between basin roundtables, including the requirement that every basin roundtable whose waters are affected by a proposed compact or other agreement shall provide its affirmative support for such proposed compact or other agreement before such compact or agreement is final or binding;

(c) As deemed appropriate by the interbasin compact committee but subject to the principles established in section 37-75-102, authorities and procedures for making compacts or other agreements between roundtables legally binding and enforceable; and

(d) As deemed appropriate by the interbasin compact committee, procedures for integrating the processes established in this article with existing planning, permitting, and public participation processes related to the conservation and development of water within Colorado; except that no provision of the charter shall supercede, impair, or otherwise modify the authority, jurisdiction, or permitting powers of counties or other local government entities.

(4) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), commencing in 2006, the committee shall submit an annual report to the house of representatives committee on agriculture, livestock, and natural resources and the senate committee on agriculture, natural resources, and energy, or their successor committees, by October 31 concerning the status of compact negotiations and, in consultation with the Colorado water conservation board created in section 37-60-102, how money from the water supply reserve fund created in section 39-29-109 (2)(c) was allocated during the previous twelve months for water activities approved by basin roundtables.

(5) The committee shall be deemed to be a state public body for purposes of the open meetings law, part 4 of article 6 of title 24, C.R.S.
C.R.S. § 37-87-102 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 87 / Section 37-87-102
37-87-102. Definitions - natural streams and use thereof by reservoir owners
Status: in_force

37-87-102. Definitions - natural streams and use thereof by reservoir owners. (1) As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Mean annual flood" means a flood which has a magnitude (peak discharge) which is expected to be equaled or exceeded on the average once every 2.33 years and has a forty-three percent chance of being equaled or exceeded (0.43 exceedance probability) during any year, by application of the criteria defined in subsection (2) of this section.

(b) "Natural stream" means a place on the surface of the earth where water naturally flows regularly or intermittently with a perceptible current between observable banks, although the location of such banks may vary under different conditions.

(c) "One-hundred-year flood" means a flood which has a magnitude (peak discharge) which is expected to be equaled or exceeded on the average once during any one-hundred-year period (recurrence interval) and has a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded during any year (0.01 exceedance probability). The terms "one-hundred-year flood", "one percent chance flood", and "intermediate regional flood" are synonymous.

(d) "One-hundred-year floodplain" means that area in and adjacent to a natural stream which is subject to flooding as a result of the occurrence of a one-hundred-year flood.

(e) "Ordinary high watermark" of any stream means the visible channel of a natural watercourse within which water flows with sufficient frequency so as to preclude the erection or maintenance of man-made improvements without special provision for protection against flows of water in such channel or the channel defined by the mean annual flood, whichever is greater.

(2) Whenever the records basic to a determination of probable future water flows, either with respect to this section or by other requirements of law, extend for a period of one hundred or more years, the calculation based upon those results shall be deemed conclusive. If such records do not extend for a period of one hundred or more years the determination shall be made by interpolation and correlation to a full one hundred years of records by relating them to known records of water basins as similar as reasonably possible to the basin under consideration or by other acceptable methods.

(3) (a) In any case in which a determination of probable future surface water flows at any place in the state is required, the calculation shall be based upon past surface water runoff at the place in question supplemented as provided in this section. Such probable flows shall be determined by reference to the records of reliable stream gauging stations. A stream gauging station record shall be deemed reliable if made by the state of Colorado or the United States as part of a regular program of either of those entities, except as to any part of such records which the state engineer shall have designated as being unreliable, on the basis of facts so showing. Whenever a designation of probable future runoff is required at a place other than the location of a reliable stream gauging station, the determination of probable runoff at such other place shall be made by relating the probable future runoff at that place to the recorded runoff at a comparable gauging station or gauging stations by the interpolation of reasonable hydrologic, geologic, and natural vegetative factors supplemented as provided in this section. Unless clearly unrelated, the factors of the comparison shall include, but not be limited to, the following elements or characteristics:

(I) The water basin contributing to the probable future flow at the place where probable future runoff is to be determined, considering:

(A) The size;

(B) The altitude or altitudes;

(C) The various soil permeabilities;

(D) The various vegetative covers;

(II) The known runoff as determined by reliable stream gauging stations using interpolations when necessary from comparable gauging stations and relating interpolations to the characteristics of the basin measured by the comparable gauging stations as related to the basin of runoff being determined;

(III) The slope or slopes of the terrain whose surface runoff contributes to the surface water flows at the place at which a determination of probable future surface water flows is required.

(b) The state engineer shall promulgate rules pursuant to section 24-4-103, C.R.S., which include other factors for consideration in any area or situation in which calculations based on the criteria in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) will probably be made more accurate by use of other or additional criteria. Whenever conditions are such that records of past precipitation are an appropriate factor, he may designate any portion of official precipitation records of agencies of the United States or of the state of Colorado which are appropriate in evaluating probable future water flows. He may approve use of factors referred to in this paragraph (b) with respect to particular areas or design of specific structures when requested to do so.

(c) No dam safety requirement shall be imposed to meet a potential hazard of a flood whose magnitude is such that the hazard would probably exist whether or not the dam failed.

(3.5) Whenever a determination of probable future surface water flows, or the probability of frequency of their recurrence, at any place in Colorado is required by relation to a longer period of flow than that for which there is a reliable record of flow as defined in subsection (3) of this section, the determination shall be made by interpolation and correlation of known records to the longer period by relating known records of water basins as similar as reasonably possible to the place of determination or basin under consideration, or by use of geologic determinations, or by use of other methods reasonably calculated to formulate an accurate estimate of probable future flows or the probability of frequency of their recurrence at the place of determination of such flows.

(3.7) Calculations of probable flows or frequency of recurrence based upon application of the principles set forth in subsections (3) and (3.5) of this section shall relieve anyone acting in accordance with such principles of any liability respecting an occurrence different than that predicted. This exemption from liability shall apply to the state and its public officials or employees when acting in performance of their public duties.

(4) The owners of any reservoir may conduct the waters legally stored therein into and along any of the natural streams of the state, but not so as to raise the waters thereof above ordinary high watermark, and may take the same out again at any point desired if no material injury results to the prior or subsequent rights of others to other waters in said natural streams. Due allowance shall be made for evaporation and other losses from natural causes for the protection of all rights to the waters flowing in said streams, such losses to be determined by the state engineer.
C.R.S. § 37-3.5-103 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 3.5 / Section 37-3.5-103
37-3.5-103. Notice of election
Status: in_force

37-3.5-103. Notice of election. Upon presentation of such petition or resolution, the court shall cause a notice to be published forthwith at least once each week for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in each county where the district or parts thereof lie. Such notice shall recite that a petition or resolution for dissolution of the district has been filed, shall describe generally the territory of the district, and shall further specify the time and places of election, which time shall not be less than sixty days nor more than ninety days after the date of the last publication of the notice. If an objection to the petition or resolution is filed in such court by an owner of land situated within said district within twenty days from the date of the last publication of the notice, the court may, if necessary, continue the election from time to time until all objections are disposed of. Due notice of the time and places of any continued election shall be given in the manner and form prescribed above.
C.R.S. § 37-20-102 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 20 / Section 37-20-102
37-20-102. Petition - maps - committee
Status: in_force

37-20-102. Petition - maps - committee. (1) The petition may be in more than one part for convenience in obtaining signatures if each part is the same in substance. When the several parts of said petition, with the signatures thereto attached, are together presented to the board of county commissioners, they shall be considered as one petition. Said petition shall be signed by a majority of the owners of said lands, whether residents or nonresidents of said county, as well as by the owners in the aggregate of a majority of the total number of acres of land sought to be included in said district and shall contain a general description of the boundaries of said proposed district and a statement that the lands within said proposed district are not at present cultivatable or useful or fully so and that they can be made more productive or useful by drainage.

(2) The petition shall be accompanied by a map drawn to scale of not less than two inches to the mile, giving the names of the owners of each tract of land appearing of record and proposed to be embraced in said district. The petitioners shall select and name in said petition a committee of three or more of said petitioners to present such petition to the board of county commissioners and to give notice thereof as provided in section 37-20-106.

(3) The equalized county assessment roll next preceding the presentation of a petition for the organization of a drainage district is sufficient evidence of title for the purpose of articles 20 to 30 of this title, but other evidence may be received including receipts or other evidence of the rights of entrymen of lands under any law of the United States or of this state, and such entrymen shall be competent signers of such petition, and the lands on which said entries have been made by entrymen for the purpose of said petition shall be considered as owned by them. Articles 20 to 30 of this title shall apply to said lands to the extent of the rights of such entrymen and shall bind said lands as other lands in the district when the title of the state or the United States is divested.
C.R.S. § 37-44-119 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 44 / Section 37-44-119
37-44-119. Apportionment of levy
Status: in_force

37-44-119. Apportionment of levy. (1) On or before July 1 in each year, the board of directors shall determine the amount of money required to meet the current expenses of the district for the coming year, including the cost of construction, maintenance, including maintenance of drainage works, operating expenses, and any deficiencies in the payment of expenses already incurred, and bond interest unpaid, and also the amount of bonded indebtedness and the principal or interest which will fall due during the coming year and, by resolution, shall order such an amount of money to be raised by special assessment upon the lands of the district as may be necessary to raise the sum of money so determined, and such amount shall be apportioned among the several tracts in the name of the owner, when known, according to the acreage of each at its figure or classification on the graduated scale so that each tract may bear its equal burden proportionate to benefits.

(2) The secretary of the district shall make out a special assessment roll, hereinafter designated "assessment list", setting down in opposite columns the owners, names when known, and when unknown stating unknown, a description of the land, and the number denoting the classification of the assessment, which is current expenses and which is bonded indebtedness and interest thereon in separate columns.
C.R.S. § 37-43-130 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 43 / Part 1 / Section 37-43-130
37-43-130. Construction
Status: in_force

37-43-130. Construction. Sections 37-43-124 to 37-43-131 shall be liberally construed to carry out the intent and purpose, and nothing in this article shall be held to curtail or abridge the powers of the district officers, the boards of county commissioners, or the revenue officers of the state in the assessment, levy, or collection of irrigation district taxes, or in any other particular. All such powers are expressly retained and, in addition thereto, such officers have all powers necessary or proper to enable them to fully carry out the provisions of sections 37-43-124 to 37-43-131. The procedure provided in this article shall not be deemed to affect any liens for unpaid taxes or assessments which have been duly levied and assessed, existing at the time of the filing of the petition in the district court; but nothing in sections 37-43-124 to 37-43-131 or in the procedure therein provided shall be construed in any manner to either impair, enlarge, or give additional rights or powers to the holders of bonds or other evidences of district indebtedness. The board of directors of the district has the right to sell or otherwise dispose of any of the personal property of the district in the ordinary course of business, and nothing in sections 37-43-124 to 37-43-131 shall be taken or held to interfere with such right.
C.R.S. § 37-44-107 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 44 / Section 37-44-107
37-44-107. Plans for improvements
Status: in_force

37-44-107. Plans for improvements. Upon qualification, the board of directors shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a plan for the improvements for which the district was created. Such plan shall include such maps, profiles, plans, other data and descriptions as may be necessary to give the proper location and character of the work contemplated, and the specific property to be benefited thereby, that portion to be furnished with a supply of reservoir water for the irrigation thereof or to supplement inadequate water rights already appurtenant thereto, or used for the irrigation thereof, or any lands lying either within or without the boundaries of the district, the drainage of which may be deemed directly or indirectly beneficial to the lands within the district, and that portion of said district requiring flood protection; however, no system of drainage or irrigation already existing in said internal improvement district, or any drainage district, or irrigation district, or any water rights appertaining to or provided for any lands in said district after May 9, 1923, and not supplied by works constructed by such internal improvement district, shall be affected in any way by the passage of this article or the organization of said district.
C.R.S. § 37-80-101.5 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 80 / Section 37-80-101.5
37-80-101.5. Office of the state engineer
Status: in_force

37-80-101.5. Office of the state engineer. The office of the state engineer is created in the division of water resources in the department of natural resources and is a type 1 entity, as defined in section 24-1-105.
C.R.S. § 37-61-101 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 61 / Section 37-61-101
37-61-101. Colorado River compact
Status: in_force

37-61-101. Colorado River compact. The General Assembly hereby approves the compact, designated as the "Colorado River Compact", signed at the City of Santa Fe, State of New Mexico, on the 24th day of November, A.D. 1922, by Delph E. Carpenter, as the Commissioner for the State of Colorado, under authority of and in conformity with the provisions of an act of the General Assembly of the State of Colorado, approved April 2, 1921, entitled "An Act providing for the appointment of a Commissioner on behalf of the State of Colorado to negotiate a compact and agreement between the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming and between said States and the United States respecting the use and distribution of the waters of the Colorado River and the rights of said States and the United States thereto, and making an appropriation therefor.", the same being Chapter 246 of the Session Laws of Colorado, 1921, and signed by the Commissioners for the States of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, under legislative authority, and signed by the Commissioners for said seven States and approved by the Representative of the United States of America under authority and in conformity with the provisions of an Act of the Congress of the United States, approved August 19, 1921, entitled "An Act to permit a compact or agreement between the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, respecting the disposition and apportionment of the waters of the Colorado River, and for other purposes.", which said compact is as follows:

Colorado River Compact

The States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, having resolved to enter into a compact, under the Act of the Congress of the United States of America approved August 19, 1921, (42 Statutes at Large, page 171), and the Acts of the legislatures of the said states, have through their Governors appointed as their commissioners:

W. S. Norviel, for the State of Arizona;

W. F. McClure, for the State of California;

Delph E. Carpenter, for the State of Colorado;

J. G. Scrugham, for the State of Nevada;

Stephen B. Davis, Jr., for the State of New Mexico;

R. E. Caldwell, for the State of Utah;

Frank C. Emerson, for the State of Wyoming;

who, after negotiations participated in by Herbert Hoover appointed by the President as the representative of the United States of America, have agreed upon the following articles:

Article I

The major purposes of this compact are to provide for the equitable division and apportionment of the use of the waters of the Colorado River System; to establish the relative importance of different beneficial uses of water; to promote interstate comity; to remove causes of present and future controversies; and to secure the expeditious agricultural and industrial development of the Colorado River Basin, the storage of its waters and the protection of life and property from floods. To these ends the Colorado River Basin is divided into two Basins, and an apportionment of the use of part of the water of the Colorado River System is made to each of them with the provision that further equitable apportionments may be made.

Article II

As used in this Compact:

(a) The term "Colorado River System" means that portion of the Colorado River and its tributaries within the United States of America.

(b) The term "Colorado River Basin" means all of the drainage area of the Colorado River System and all other territory within the United States of America to which the waters of the Colorado River System shall be beneficially applied.

(c) The term "States of the Upper Division" means the States of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

(d) The term "States of the Lower Division" means the States of Arizona, California and Nevada.

(e) The "Lee Ferry" means a point in the main stream of the Colorado River one mile below the mouth of the Paria River.

(f) The term "Upper Basin" means those parts of the States of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming within and from which waters naturally drain into the Colorado River System above Lee Ferry, and also all parts of said States located without the drainage area of the Colorado River System which are now or shall hereafter be beneficially served by waters diverted from the System above Lee Ferry.

(g) The term "Lower Basin" means those parts of the States of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah within and from which waters naturally drain into the Colorado River System below Lee Ferry, and also all parts of said States located without the drainage area of the Colorado River System which are now or shall hereafter be beneficially served by waters diverted from the System below Lee Ferry.

(h) The term "domestic use" shall include the use of water for household, stock, municipal, mining, milling, industrial and other like purposes, but shall exclude the generation of electrical power.

Article III

(a) There is hereby apportioned from the Colorado River System in perpetuity to the Upper Basin and to the Lower Basin respectively the exclusive beneficial consumptive use of 7,500,000 acre feet of water per annum, which shall include all water necessary for the supply of any rights which may now exist.

(b) In addition to the apportionment in paragraph (a) the Lower Basin is hereby given the right to increase its beneficial consumptive use of such waters by one million acre per annum.

(c) If, as a matter of international comity, the United States of America shall hereafter recognize in the United States of Mexico any right to the use of any waters of the Colorado River System, such waters shall be supplied first from the waters which are surplus over and above the aggregate of the quantities specified in paragraphs (a) and (b); and if such surplus shall prove insufficient for this purpose, then, the burden of such deficiency shall be equally borne by the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin, and whenever necessary the States of the Upper Division shall deliver at Lee Ferry water to supply one-half of the deficiency so recognized in addition to that provided in paragraph (d).

(d) The states of the Upper Division will not cause the flow of the river at Lee Ferry to be depleted below an aggregate of 75,000,000 acre feet for any period of ten consecutive years reckoned in continuing progressive series beginning with the first day of October next succeeding the ratification of this compact.

(e) The States of the Upper Division shall not withhold water, and the States of the Lower Division shall not require the delivery of water, which cannot reasonably be applied to domestic and agricultural uses.

(f) Further equitable apportionment of the beneficial uses of the waters of the Colorado River System unapportioned by paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) may be made in the manner provided in paragraph (g) at any time after October first, 1963, if and when either basin shall have reached its total beneficial consumptive use as set out in paragraphs (a) and (b).

(g) In the event of a desire for a further apportionment as provided in paragraph (f) any two signatory States, acting through their Governors, may give joint notice of such desire to the Governors of the other signatory States and to the President of the United States of America, and it shall be the duty of the Governor of the signatory states and of the President of the United States of America forthwith to appoint representatives, whose duty it shall be to divide and apportion equitably between the Upper Basin and Lower Basin the beneficial use of the unapportioned water of the Colorado River System as mentioned in paragraph (f), subject to the Legislative ratification of the signatory States and the Congress of the United States of America.

Article IV

(a) Inasmuch as the Colorado River has ceased to be navigable for commerce and the reservation of its waters for navigation would seriously limit the development of its Basin, the use of its waters for purpose of navigation shall be subservient to the uses of such waters for domestic, agricultural and power purposes. If the Congress shall not consent to this paragraph, the other provisions of this compact shall nevertheless remain binding.

(b) Subject to the provisions of this compact, water of the Colorado River System may be impounded and used for the generation of electrical power, but such impounding and use shall be subservient to the use and consumption of such water for agricultural and domestic purposes and shall not interfere with or prevent use for such dominant purposes.

(c) The provisions of this article shall not apply to or interfere with the regulation and control by any state within its boundaries of the appropriation, use and distribution of water.

Article V

The Chief Official of each signatory State charged with the administration of water rights, together with the Director of the United States Reclamation Service and the Director of the United States Geological Survey shall co-operate, ex officio:

(a) To promote the systematic determination and coordination of the facts as to flow, appropriation, consumption and use of water in the Colorado River Basin, and the interchange of available information in such matters.

(b) To secure the ascertainment and publication of the annual flow of the Colorado River at Lee Ferry.

(c) To perform such other duties as may be assigned by mutual consent of the signatories from time to time.

Article VI

Should any claim or controversy arise between any two or more of the signatory States: (a) with respect to the waters of the Colorado River System not covered by the terms of this compact; (b) over the meaning or performance of any of the terms of this compact; (c) as to the allocation of the burdens incident to the performance of any article of this compact or the delivery of waters as herein provided; (d) as to the construction or operation of works within the Colorado River Basin to be situated in two or more States, or to be constructed in one State for the benefit of another State; or (e) as to the diversion of water in one State for the benefit of another State; the Governors of the States affected, upon the request of one of them, shall forthwith appoint Commissioners with power to consider and adjust such claim or controversy, subject to ratification by the Legislatures of the States so affected.

Nothing herein contained shall prevent the adjustment of any such claim or controversy by any present method or by direct future legislative action of the interested States.

Article VII

Nothing in this compact shall be construed as affecting the obligations of the United States of America to Indian tribes.

Article VIII

Present perfected rights to the beneficial use of waters of the Colorado River System are unimpaired by this compact. Whenever storage capacity of 5,000,000 acre feet shall have been provided on the main Colorado River within or for the benefit of the Lower Basin, then claims of such rights, if any, by appropriators or users of waters in the Lower Basin, against appropriators or users of water in the Upper Basin shall attach to and be satisfied from water that may be stored not in conflict with Article III.

All other rights to beneficial use of waters of the Colorado River System shall be satisfied solely from the water apportioned to that Basin in which they are situate.

Article IX

Nothing in this compact shall be construed to limit or prevent any State from instituting or maintaining any action or proceeding, legal or equitable, for the protection of any right under this compact or the enforcement of any of its provisions.

Article X

This compact may be terminated at any time by the unanimous agreement of the signatory States. In the event of such termination all rights established under it shall continue unimpaired.

Article XI

This compact shall become binding and obligatory when it shall have been approved by the Legislatures of each of the signatory States and by the Congress of the United States. Notice of approval by the Legislatures shall be given by the Governor of each signatory State to the Governors of the other signatory 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 the signatory States of approval by the Congress of the United States.

In Witness Whereof, The Commissioners have signed this compact in a single original, which shall be deposited in the archives of the Department of State of the United States of America 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, New Mexico, this Twenty-fourth day of November, A.D. One Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty-Two.

W. S. Norviel,

W. F. McClure,

Delph E. Carpenter,

J. G. Scrugham,

Stephen B. Davis, Jr.,

R. E. Caldwell,

Frank E. Emerson.

Approved:

Herbert Hoover.
C.R.S. § 37-90-126 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 90 / Section 37-90-126
37-90-126. Management district - directors - qualifications - oath or affirmation - bond -
Status: in_force

37-90-126. Management district - directors - qualifications - oath or affirmation - bond - vacancies. The members of the board of directors shall meet the qualifications established in section 37-90-121 (1)(b). Each member of the board shall take an oath or affirmation in accordance with section 24-12-101, shall give bond in the sum of five thousand dollars conditioned that he or she shall faithfully perform the duties of director and of such further office to which he or she may be elected in such district, and shall account for all funds or property coming into his or her hands as such director or other officer. Such bonds shall run to the district, shall be signed by a surety approved by the ground water commission, and shall be filed and recorded in the office of the state engineer. When such bond is so filed and approved, such person so elected shall take and hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualified. When a vacancy occurs on the board, such vacancy shall be filled by the remaining members of the board.
C.R.S. § 37-91-106 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 91 / Section 37-91-106
37-91-106. License - exemptions - rules
Status: in_force

37-91-106. License - exemptions - rules.

(1) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 1678, § 6, effective May 14, 2003.)

(2) A license shall not be required of any person who performs labor or services if he is directly employed by, or under the supervision of, a licensed well construction contractor or pump installation contractor.

(3) Private drillers and private pump installers are exempt from all license requirements under this article; except that such entities shall be required to comply with minimum construction standards as required by section 37-91-110 and the rules of the board.

(4) A license shall not be required of a professional engineer, professional geologist, or professional hydrologist or anyone directly employed by, or under the supervision of, a professional engineer, professional geologist, or professional hydrologist for the purpose of sampling, measuring, or test-pumping for scientific, engineering, or regulatory purposes. The board may promulgate rules governing such sampling, measuring, or test-pumping, and all such sampling, measuring, or test-pumping shall be done in compliance with such rules.
C.R.S. § 37-96-102 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 96 / Section 37-96-102
37-96-102. Legislative declaration
Status: in_force

37-96-102. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that:

(a) The waters of the state are of limited supply and are subject to ever increasing demands;

(b) The continuation of Colorado's economic prosperity is dependent on adequate supplies of water being available for future uses;

(c) It is the policy of the state to promote the conservation and efficient use of water and to prevent the waste of this valuable resource;

(d) It is further the policy of the state to conserve water used for public projects;

(e) Landscaping with plants that conserve water has an additional benefit of reducing ongoing maintenance of public projects or facilities and costs associated therewith.
C.R.S. § 37-43-149 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 43 / Part 1 / Section 37-43-149
37-43-149. Collection of taxes
Status: in_force

37-43-149. Collection of taxes. Taxes for the payment of interest and principal of said refunding bonds shall be levied and thereafter collected in the same manner as provided by law for the levy and collection of taxes for the payment of interest and principal of an original issue of irrigation district bonds. Such bonds and coupons shall be receivable in payment of said taxes, as is provided in the irrigation district law concerning original bond issues. All taxes for interest shall be kept by the county treasurer as a special fund to be used in the payment of interest only, and all taxes for the redemption of such refunding bonds shall be kept by such county treasurer as a special fund to be used for the redemption of the principal only of such refunding bonds. The revenue laws of this state for the assessment, levying, and collection of taxes on real estate for county purposes and the disbursement of such taxes, except as modified by sections 37-43-144 to 37-43-151 or by the irrigation district laws of this state, shall be applicable for the purposes of sections 37-43-144 to 37-43-151, including the enforcement of penalties and forfeitures for delinquent taxes; but if in any year a sufficient amount is not collected for payment in full of principal or interest installments falling due in such year on any specific piece of property in said irrigation district, the delinquency on such property shall be included in the next assessment thereafter levied against said piece of property.
C.R.S. § 37-46-109.3 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 46 / Section 37-46-109.3
37-46-109.3. Taxes - determination and collection
Status: in_force

37-46-109.3. Taxes - determination and collection. (1) In addition to other means of providing revenue for the district, the board of directors, in the name of the district, has the power to levy and collect general ad valorem taxes on or against all taxable property within the district, subject to the limitations provided in section 37-46-109 (1).

(2) To levy and collect general ad valorem taxes, the board shall determine in each year the amount of money to be raised by taxation, including, without limitation, tax levies to retire and pay indebtedness incurred by the district by contract other than the issuance of bonds pursuant to section 37-46-133 and other provisions in this article supplemental thereto, taking into consideration other sources of revenue of the district, and shall fix a rate of levy, without limitation as to rate or amount, but subject to the limitations provided in section 37-46-109 (1), which, when levied upon every dollar of valuation for assessment of taxable property within the district and together with any other moneys of the district, will raise the amount required by the district annually to supply funds for the payment of costs and expenses specified in section 37-46-109 (1) and this subsection (2).

(3) In accordance with the schedule prescribed by section 39-5-128, C.R.S., the board of directors shall certify to the board of county commissioners of each county within the district or having a portion of its territory within the district the rate so fixed in order that, at the time and in the manner required by law for the levying of taxes, such board of county commissioners shall levy such tax upon the valuation for assessment of all taxable property within the district.

(4) The body having authority to levy taxes within each such county shall levy the taxes certified to it, and all officials charged with the duty of collecting taxes shall collect such taxes levied by the district in accordance with sections 37-46-126.5 and 37-46-126.6.
C.R.S. § 37-24-105 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 24 / Section 37-24-105
37-24-105. Compensation for property taken
Status: in_force

37-24-105. Compensation for property taken. Said drainage district shall make due and just compensation for such right-of-way and the damages occasioned by the construction and operation of its works, and, where the compensation for the property sought to be taken or damaged cannot be agreed upon by the parties interested, or in case the owner of the property is incapable of consenting, or his name or residence is unknown, or he is a nonresident of the state, the compensation to be paid for such right-of-way and damages occasioned by the construction and operation of such drainage works shall be determined by proceedings in eminent domain in the manner provided by law for the exercise of the right of eminent domain.
C.R.S. § 37-47-102 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 47 / Section 37-47-102
37-47-102. Definitions
Status: in_force

37-47-102. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "District" means the "Southwestern Water Conservation District". The district is a body corporate and politic and a political subdivision of the state of Colorado.

(2) "Person" means a person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation.

(3) "Property", as used in section 37-47-109 (1), includes both real and personal property. In other parts of said article relating to special assessments, unless otherwise specified, it means real estate as "real estate" is defined by the law of the state of Colorado and embraces all railroads, tramroads, electric railroads, state and interurban railroads, highways, telephone, telegraph and transmission lines, water systems, water rights, pipelines, and rights-of-way of public service corporations, and all other real property, whether held for public or private use.

(4) "San Juan and Dolores rivers" embraces and includes any and all tributaries or streams which flow into the San Juan and Dolores rivers which may be found in any part of the territory embraced in said district.

(5) "Subdistrict" or "subdivision" embraces and includes the kind or character of special improvement districts created under the provisions of this article, including subdistricts organized under the name and style of "Water Users' Association No. ............ of the Southwestern Water Conservation District" and "Special Improvement District No. .......... of the Southwestern Water Conservation District". A subdistrict or subdivision is a body corporate and politic and a political subdivision of the state of Colorado.
C.R.S. § 37-31-122 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 31 / Section 37-31-122
37-31-122. Directors may sell bonds
Status: in_force

37-31-122. Directors may sell bonds. The board of directors may sell bonds from time to time in such quantities as may be necessary and most advantageous to raise money to carry out the objects and purposes of this article. Before making any sale, the board, by resolution, shall declare its intention to sell a specified amount of bonds, and the day, hour, and place of such sale, and shall cause such resolution to be entered in the minutes and notice of the sale to be given by the publication thereof in two consecutive insertions in a daily newspaper published in said district, and in any other newspaper, at the discretion of the board.
C.R.S. § 37-43-211 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 43 / Part 2 / Section 37-43-211
37-43-211. Creation of contracting district - election
Status: in_force

37-43-211. Creation of contracting district - election. An irrigation district proposing to become a contracting district shall submit the question of whether to become a contracting district at a special election called for that purpose. Copies of the contract proposed to be entered into shall be maintained at the office of the district from the date of notice of such election until the election is held, and such copies shall be available for inspection by landowners of the district during business hours. Each landowner who owns property within the district which is assessed for district taxes shall be entitled to cast one vote for each acre, or fraction thereof, of land owned by such landowners in the district. If a majority of the votes cast at such election are in favor of the irrigation district becoming a contracting district, such district shall be deemed to be subject to the provisions of this part 2, and the board of directors thereof shall be authorized to enter into a salinity control contract and to execute such modifications, extensions, and supplements thereto from time to time as the board shall deem appropriate.
C.R.S. § 37-20-110 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 20 / Section 37-20-110
37-20-110. Establishment without election
Status: in_force

37-20-110. Establishment without election. When the prayer of the petition is that a drainage system be established without holding an election and it appears that a large portion of the land which will be benefited by the proposed drainage system is unoccupied land or so many of the owners of land to be benefited thereby are not residents upon the land that an election would be impracticable or would entail an undue expense, the board of county commissioners is authorized, at any regular or special session, to cause a system of drainage to be constructed and to exercise all the powers conferred upon boards of directors of drainage districts, and to continue to exercise the powers and perform the duties of boards of directors until a petition is presented signed by the owners of the larger portion of the lands, or their duly authorized agents, praying that an election may be called to elect directors for the district. Then the board of county commissioners shall call an election for that purpose and as soon as the result of said election is determined, the board of county commissioners shall cease to have or exercise the duties of directors of a drainage district.
C.R.S. § 37-87-108 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 87 / Section 37-87-108
37-87-108. Withdrawal of excess water
Status: in_force

37-87-108. Withdrawal of excess water. If the owners of any such reservoir impound water therein to a depth greater than that determined by the state engineer to be safe, it is the duty of the division engineer of the district wherein such reservoir is located to forthwith proceed to withdraw from said reservoir so much of the water as shall be in excess of the amount so determined by the state engineer to be safe, and the division engineer shall close the inlets to the same to prevent said reservoir from being refilled to an amount beyond what said state engineer has designated as being safe. If the owners of said reservoir, or any other persons, interfere with the division engineer in the discharge of said duty, the said division engineer shall call to his aid such persons as he deems necessary and employ such force as the circumstances demand to enable him to comply with the requirements of this section. Any costs incurred by the state engineer in rectifying a failure of compliance by the owner may be recovered in a suit for civil damages.
C.R.S. § 37-90.5-104 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 90.5 / Section 37-90.5-104
37-90.5-104. Ownership declaration
Status: reserved

37-90.5-104. Ownership declaration. (1) Where a geothermal resource is found in association with geothermal fluid which is tributary groundwater, such geothermal resource is declared to be a public resource to which usufructuary rights only may be established according to the procedures of this article. No correlative property right to such a geothermal resource in place is recognized as an incident of ownership of an estate in land.

(2) The property right to a hot dry rock resource or a geothermal resource associated with nontributary groundwater is an incident of the ownership of the overlying surface, unless the property right is severed, reserved, or transferred with the subsurface estate expressly.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to derogate valid, existing property rights to geothermal resources which have vested prior to July 1, 1983. However, such property rights shall not be deemed vested absent the award of a decree for an application filed prior to June 10, 1983, pursuant to existing water law or the entering into of a geothermal lease prior to June 10, 1983, or unless utilizing facilities are actually in existence prior to July 1, 1983. A facility for utilization of geothermal resources shall be considered to be in existence if it is in actual operation or is undergoing significant construction activities prior to operation.

(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, nothing in this section:

(a) Derogates the rights of a landowner to nontributary groundwater; or

(b) Affects any ownership or rights to a geothermal resource associated with nontributary groundwater, which resource is acquired before July 1, 2023.

(5) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, geothermal resources associated with nontributary groundwater shall not be transferred separately from the nontributary groundwater.
C.R.S. § 37-48-105 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 48 / Section 37-48-105
37-48-105. Powers of district
Status: in_force

37-48-105. Powers of district. (1) The district, in its corporate capacity, shall have power to:

(a) Sue and be sued in the name of the Rio Grande water conservation district and otherwise to participate in litigation;

(b) Acquire, operate, and hold in the name of the district such real and personal property as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this article and to sell and convey such property or its products as provided in this article or when said property is no longer needed for the purposes of said district;

(c) Borrow money and incur indebtedness and to issue bonds or other evidence of such indebtedness; except that the district may not incur any indebtedness in an aggregate amount exceeding the product of the valuation for assessment of the district multiplied by two mills;

(d) Make surveys and conduct investigations to determine the best manner of utilizing streamflows within the district and the amount of such streamflow or other water supply, and to locate ditches, irrigation works, and reservoirs to store or utilize water for irrigation, mining, manufacturing, or other purposes, and to make filings upon said water and initiate appropriations for the use and benefit of the ultimate appropriators, and to do and perform all acts and things necessary or advisable to secure and insure an adequate supply of water, present and future, for irrigation, mining, manufacturing, and domestic purposes within said district;

(e) Make contracts with respect to the relative rights of said district under its claims and filings and the rights of any other person, association, or organization seeking to divert water from any of the streams within said district;

(f) Contract with any agencies, officers, bureaus, and departments of the state of Colorado and the United States, including the department of corrections, to obtain services or labor for the initiation or construction of irrigation works, canals, reservoirs, power plants, or retaining ponds within said district;

(g) Enter upon any privately-owned land or other real property for the purpose of making surveys or obtaining other information, without obtaining any order so to do, if the same can be done without damage to the lands, crops, or improvements thereon;

(h) Contract with the United States government, the bureau of reclamation, or other agencies of the United States government for the construction of any works;

(i) Have and exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire ditches, reservoirs, or other works or lands or rights-of-way therefor which the district or a subdistrict thereof may need to carry out the plans of said district or subdistrict and in general to exercise any and all rights and powers of eminent domain conferred upon other agencies, as provided in articles 1 to 7 of title 38, C.R.S.;

(j) File upon and hold for the use of the public sufficient water of any natural stream to maintain a constant streamflow in the amount necessary to preserve fish, and to use such water in connection with retaining ponds for the propagation of fish for the benefit of the public;

(k) Exercise such implied powers and perform such other acts as may be necessary to carry out and effect any of the express powers hereby conferred upon such district;

(l) Participate in the formulation and implementation of nonpoint source water pollution control programs related to agricultural practices in order to implement programs required or authorized under federal law and section 25-8-205 (5), C.R.S., enter into contracts and agreements, accept funds from any federal, state, or private sources, receive grants or loans, participate in education and demonstration programs, construct, operate, maintain, or replace facilities, and perform such other activities and adopt such rules and policies as the board deems necessary or desirable in connection with nonpoint source water pollution control programs related to agricultural practices;

(m) Make loans or grants to any public entity, nonprofit corporation, not-for-profit corporation, carrier ditch company, mutual ditch or reservoir company, unincorporated ditch or reservoir company, or cooperative association within the boundaries of the district to carry out the purposes of the district;

(n) In connection with a plan of water management, assess annual service charges and user fees on the diversion or use of water within the district or a subdistrict. This paragraph (n) shall not allow service charges or user fees to be imposed on surface water diversions in a plan of water management to replace depletions from groundwater withdrawals or to reduce groundwater diversions.

(o) Establish a nonprofit or charitable land trust;

(p) Purchase, rent, lease, and accept donations of, or cooperate in the creation of, conservation easements; and

(q) Cooperate in the creation of conservation reserve programs and other similar programs.

(2) The district, in its own name, may issue revenue bonds to finance, in whole or in part, the construction of works, reservoirs, or other improvements for the beneficial use of water for the purposes for which it has been or may be appropriated, and to finance plans of water management, whether or not the interest on such bonds may be subject to taxation. Such revenue bonds shall be issued in such denominations and with such maximum net effective interest rate as may be fixed by the board of directors of the district and shall bear interest such that the net effective interest rate of the bonds does not exceed the maximum net effective interest rate authorized. The board shall pledge only rental proceeds, service charges, other income, or any combination thereof, from such works, plans of water management, or other improvements, and the district shall not be otherwise obligated for the payment thereof. At the time such revenue bonds are issued, the board of directors of the district shall make and enter in the minutes of the proceeding a resolution that sets out the due dates of such revenue bonds, the rates of interest thereon, the general provisions of the bonds, and a recital that the same are payable only out of rental proceeds, service charges, other income, or any combination thereof. In addition, the board of directors shall require the payment of rental charges, service charges, or other charges by the political subdivisions or persons who are to use or derive benefits from the water or other services furnished by such works, plans of water management, or improvements. Such charges shall be sufficient to pay operation and maintenance expenses thereof, to meet said bond payments, and to accumulate and maintain reserve and replacement accounts pertaining thereto as set forth in such resolution. Such resolution shall be irrepealable during the time that any of the revenue bonds are outstanding and unpaid. The revenue bonds shall be signed "Rio Grande Water Conservation District, By ..........., President. Attest .................., Secretary", and they shall be countersigned by the treasurer.
C.R.S. § 37-46-141 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 46 / Section 37-46-141
37-46-141. Election returns
Status: in_force

37-46-141. Election returns. (1) In the case of any election held under this article which is not held concurrently with a primary or general election, the election officials shall make their returns directly to the secretary of the district for the board of directors.

(2) In the case of any election held under this article which is consolidated with any primary or general election, the returns thereof shall be made and canvassed at the time and in the manner provided by law for the canvass of the returns of such primary or general election. Such canvassing body shall certify promptly and shall transmit to the secretary of the district for the board of directors a statement of the result of the vote upon any proposition submitted under this article.

(3) Upon receipt by the board of directors of election returns from election officials or upon receipt of such certificate from each such canvassing body, the board shall tabulate and declare the results of the election at any regular or special meeting held not earlier than five days following the date of the election.

(4) The board of directors shall cause the results of the election to be published at least one time in at least one newspaper having general circulation in the district.
C.R.S. § 37-43-189 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 43 / Part 1 / Section 37-43-189
37-43-189. Continuation of lien of bonded indebtedness - repeal
Status: repealed

37-43-189. Continuation of lien of bonded indebtedness - repeal. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-43-129 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 43 / Part 1 / Section 37-43-129
37-43-129. Decree of sale
Status: in_force

37-43-129. Decree of sale. The court in its decree has the power to make the orders necessary to carry out said proposition or plan for the sale of the dams, reservoirs, canals, franchises, water rights, or other property of the district; but no plan for the sale of the entire property of irrigation districts including the dams, reservoirs, canals, franchises, water rights, and other property of the district shall be approved by the court which does not provide for the ultimate payment or liquidation of all the indebtedness of the district and adequate security for the holders thereof, and as well protect the landowners of said district.
C.R.S. § 37-95-101 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 95 / Section 37-95-101
37-95-101. Short title
Status: in_force

37-95-101. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority Act".
C.R.S. § 37-50-110 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 50 / Section 37-50-110
37-50-110. Levy and collection of uniform sales and use tax
Status: in_force

37-50-110. Levy and collection of uniform sales and use tax. (1) (a) [Editor's note: This version of subsection (1)(a) is effective until July 1, 2025.] In addition to other means of providing revenue for the district, the board, in the name of the district, has the power to levy and collect a uniform sales and use tax throughout the entire geographical area of the district, notwithstanding any provision of article 2 of title 29, C.R.S., to the contrary, and upon the approval of the eligible electors in the district at an election held in accordance with section 20 of article X of the state constitution and articles 1 to 13 of title 1, C.R.S.

(1) (a) [Editor's note: This version of subsection (1)(a) is effective July 1, 2025.] In addition to other means of providing revenue for the district, the board, in the name of the district, has the power to levy and collect a uniform sales and use tax throughout the entire geographical area of the district, notwithstanding any provision of part 1 of article 2 of title 29 to the contrary, and upon the approval of the eligible electors in the district at an election held in accordance with section 20 of article X of the state constitution and articles 1 to 13 of title 1.

(b) Such uniform sales tax rate shall not exceed one percent upon every transaction or other incident with respect to which a sales and use tax is levied by the state pursuant to the provisions of article 26 of title 39, C.R.S.

(c) The sales and use tax imposed pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) shall not be levied on:

(I) The sale of tangible personal property delivered by a retailer, by a retailer's agent, or to a common carrier for delivery to a destination outside the district; or

(II) The sale of tangible personal property on which a specific ownership tax has been paid or is payable when such sale meets the following conditions:

(A) The purchaser does not reside in the district or the purchaser's principal place of business is outside the district; and

(B) The personal property is registered or required to be registered outside the geographical boundaries of the district under the laws of this state.

(d) The sales and use tax imposed pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) is in addition to any other sales and use tax imposed pursuant to law.

(2) [Editor's note: This version of subsection (2) is effective until July 1, 2025.] (a) The collection, administration, and enforcement of the sales and use tax shall be performed by the executive director of the department of revenue in the same manner as that for the collection, administration, and enforcement of the state sales and use tax imposed pursuant to article 26 of title 39, C.R.S., including, without limitation, the retention by a vendor of the percentage of the amount remitted to cover the vendor's expense in the collection and remittance of the sales tax as provided in section 39-26-105, C.R.S. The executive director shall make monthly distributions of sales tax collections to the district. The district shall pay the net incremental cost incurred by the department in the administration and collection of the sales and use tax.

(b) (I) A qualified purchaser may provide a direct payment permit number issued pursuant to section 39-26-103.5, C.R.S., to any vendor or retailer that is liable and responsible for collecting and remitting any sales tax levied on any sale made to the qualified purchaser pursuant to the provisions of this section. A vendor or retailer that has received a direct payment permit number in good faith from a qualified purchaser shall not be liable or responsible for collection and remittance of any sales tax imposed on the sale that is paid for directly from the qualified purchaser's funds and not the personal funds of any individual.

(II) A qualified purchaser that provides a direct payment permit number to a vendor or retailer shall be liable and responsible for the amount of sales tax levied on any sale made to the qualified purchaser pursuant to this section in the same manner as liability would be imposed on a qualified purchaser for state sales tax pursuant to section 39-26-105 (3), C.R.S.

(c) (I) The board shall designate a financial officer who shall coordinate with the department of revenue regarding the collection of a sales and use tax. This coordination shall include, but not be limited to, the financial officer identifying those businesses eligible to collect the sales and use tax and any other administrative details identified by the department.

(II) Any sales and use tax authorized pursuant to this article shall become effective on July 1 following the electors' approval of the tax.

(2) [Editor's note: This version of subsection (2) is effective July 1, 2025.] (a) The collection, administration, and enforcement of the sales and use tax shall be performed by the executive director of the department of revenue pursuant to part 2 of article 2 of title 29. The district shall pay the net incremental cost incurred by the department in the administration and collection of the sales and use tax.

(b) and (c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2024.)

(3) The district shall use the revenues generated from the sales and use tax imposed pursuant to this article to assure compliance with the Republican river compact.
C.R.S. § 37-87-119 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 87 / Section 37-87-119
37-87-119. Completion of dam
Status: repealed

37-87-119. Completion of dam. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 37-87-125 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 87 / Section 37-87-125
37-87-125. Notice of intent to construct impoundment structure
Status: in_force

37-87-125. Notice of intent to construct impoundment structure. Any person proposing to construct a reservoir for the purpose of storing water, other than a reservoir specified in section 37-87-105 (1) or a livestock water tank as described in section 35-49-103, C.R.S., shall submit notice thereof to the state engineer prior to the beginning of any construction. Such notice shall include the location of such proposed reservoir with reference to section, township, and range and the dimensions of the reservoir, the dam, and the spillway. If any reservoir is constructed without the notice required by this section, the state engineer may prohibit the storage of water in such reservoir or direct the withdrawal of water from such reservoir. The provisions of this section shall not apply to structures listed in section 37-87-114.5.
C.R.S. § 37-84-117 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 84 / Section 37-84-117
37-84-117. Reservoirs in streams
Status: in_force

37-84-117. Reservoirs in streams. (1) The owners of any reservoir located upon or in the bed of any natural stream or through which any natural stream flows, for the purpose of storing or diverting water, at the expense of the owner, shall furnish a complete survey of the contour lines of the reservoir for the state engineer's approval. Alternatively, in the discretion of the state engineer, a survey of the contour lines of the reservoir shall be made under the supervision of the state engineer, the deputy state engineer, or the division engineer of the division in which the reservoir is located. Contour lines must be ascertained for at least every vertical foot in depth and, where deemed necessary by the state engineer, for fractions of a foot. The owners of any reservoir shall prepare a table to be filed with and approved by the state engineer, showing the capacity, in cubic feet, for each foot in depth or fraction of a foot in depth of the reservoir. The owners of the reservoir shall file a copy of the table with the division engineer in whose division the reservoir is located. All maps, plats, field notes, tables, and surveys for a reservoir shall be filed with and approved by the state engineer and remain a part of the records of the state engineer's office.

(2) The owners of a reservoir described in subsection (1) of this section, at their own expense, under the supervision and with the approval of the state engineer, shall permanently fix and maintain a gauge rod or other instrument, or both, as directed by the state engineer, to measure the surface elevation of the reservoir at or near the outlet of the reservoir, marked in feet and tenths and one-hundredths of a foot, and in correspondence with the contour lines, from and by means of which the amount of water stored in the reservoir may be correctly ascertained. The owners, at their own expense, and under the supervision and with the approval of the state engineer, shall construct and permanently maintain a suitable and permanent measuring structure equipped with self-registering devices, according to plans and specifications approved by the state engineer, either in the bed and channel of every natural stream or watercourse discharging waters into the reservoir or on each release from the reservoir by means of which, in combination with the amount of water stored, all of the water flowing into the reservoir from the natural stream or watercourse may be definitively ascertained and determined at all times.

(3) (a) Any instruments or structures described in subsection (2) of this section are subject to inspection at all times by the owner or duly authorized agent or representative of the owners of any appropriation of water from the stream upon or in which the reservoir is constructed or operated.

(b) The state engineer or division engineer may refuse to allow any water to be taken into or diverted from a reservoir if:

(I) The owners of the reservoir fail to construct or permanently maintain any required instruments or structures, equipped as described in subsection (2) of this section; or

(II) Except as specified in subsection (3)(c) of this section, within thirty-five days after the state engineer or division engineer has provided written notice to the owners or their agents or employees directing the owners to make a contour survey, as described in subsection (1) of this section, the owners fail to cause a complete survey of the contour lines of the reservoir to be made.

(c) If suitable instruments and structures have been installed and equipped and the owners, their agents, or their employees are making good-faith efforts to complete the contour survey, the state engineer and division engineer may allow water to be stored in any such reservoir after the expiration of the thirty-five days notice as described in subsection (3)(b)(II) of this section.

(4) If the state engineer or a division engineer receives from the owner of a water right appropriating water from a stream upon which a reservoir is located, or a stream that is tributary to such a stream, a complaint alleging facts against the owner of the reservoir that, if true, would amount to a violation of this section, the state engineer or division engineer shall investigate the complaint and, if the allegations are found to be true, shall enforce this section.

(5) The state engineer may order that an owner of a reservoir release an amount of water from the reservoir that, in the determination of the state engineer, is necessary to prevent evaporation on the surface of the reservoir from depleting the natural flow of the stream running through the reservoir that would otherwise be available for use by other appropriators. In determining the quantity of any evaporation release under this section, the state engineer shall compute the surface evaporation from the reservoir and deduct from the surface evaporation any accretions to the streamflow resulting from the existence of the reservoir and any natural depletions to the streamflow that would have resulted if the reservoir were not in existence.
C.R.S. § 37-42-112 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 42 / Section 37-42-112
37-42-112. District elections - definition
Status: in_force

37-42-112. District elections - definition. (1) Elections are of two kinds, general and special. A general election shall be held once each year in the month of January, at a date, time, and place designated by the board. Any business requiring or permitting a vote of the landowners may be transacted at the election, including always the election of a board of directors for the ensuing year. A special election may be called at any time by the board of directors by resolution duly passed and entered of record in the minutes of the proceedings of the board. Notice of a general election must call attention to the date and place of the election. In addition, notice of a special election must state the nature of the business to be transacted at the election, and no business shall be transacted at the special election other than that mentioned in the call. In either case, notice shall be delivered electronically or by United States mail to each landowner of the district who is qualified to vote in district elections at the landowner's last address as shown by the records of the district at least thirty days prior to the date of the election and also published once each week for four consecutive weeks immediately preceding the election in a newspaper designated by the board and of general circulation within the district.

(2) The following landowners who own agricultural land within a district are entitled to vote at all district elections and at elections for a proposed district under section 37-42-107:

(a) A landowner who is a natural person over the age of eighteen years, is a citizen of the United States, is a resident of the state of Colorado, and has paid or is obligated to pay property taxes upon real property located within the district for the calendar year preceding the election;

(b) A landowner that is not a natural person and that has paid or is obligated to pay property taxes upon real property located within the district for the calendar year preceding the election. In order to vote at an election, the landowner must authorize an agent who satisfies the residency and age requirements set forth in subsection (2)(a) of this section to vote on its behalf at the election and must provide written notice of the authorized agent to the district in a form satisfactory to the district.

(3) The unit of voting power is one acre within a district or proposed district, each landowner being entitled to cast as many votes as the landowner has acres of land within the district or proposed district, and, in casting such votes, the landowner may vote in person or by proxy. A district may establish in its bylaws, rules, or regulations qualifications for persons acting as proxies. A person desiring to act as proxy for another must file written authority therefor before being allowed to vote, which authority:

(a) Shall be retained as part of the proceedings of the meeting at which the vote is cast; and

(b) Is not valid at any other meeting.

(4) If the district is divided into precincts, a landowner is entitled to vote at an election in the precinct where he or she resides or, if the landowner is not a natural person or is a nonresident of the district, in the precinct within which the greater portion of the landowner's land is located. The board of directors of the district may order that the entire district constitutes one election precinct, in which case the board shall establish one polling place in the precinct and shall appoint only three judges of election, who constitute a board of election, and all qualified voters voting at the election must vote at the polling place so established.

(5) As used in this section, "agricultural land" has the meaning set forth in section 39-1-102 (1.6); except that "agricultural land" does not include any land that has been platted or subdivided into residence or business lots.
C.R.S. § 37-95-107.8 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 95 / Section 37-95-107.8
37-95-107.8. Creation and administration of drinking water revolving fund
Status: in_force

37-95-107.8. Creation and administration of drinking water revolving fund. (1) There is hereby created in the authority the drinking water revolving fund that the authority shall maintain and administer for the purposes stated in this section. The authority may:

(a) Establish procedures to administer the drinking water revolving fund in accordance with the safe drinking water act and state law;

(b) Create separate accounts in the drinking water revolving fund and pledge and assign the accounts as security for the payment of the bonds of the authority;

(c) To the extent permitted by the safe drinking water act, transfer moneys to and divide moneys between the drinking water revolving fund and the water pollution control revolving fund created in section 37-95-107.6.

(2) (a) Subject to any applicable provisions of the safe drinking water act and agreements with the holders of bonds of the authority, the authority shall deposit in the drinking water revolving fund:

(I) Any grants from the federal government or its agencies allocated to the state for deposit in said fund;

(II) State matching funds, if required;

(III) Loan principal, interest, and penalty payments received with respect to loans made from the drinking water revolving fund; and

(IV) and (V) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 1279, § 52, effective June 5, 2001.)

(VI) Any other moneys as determined by the authority.

(b) Moneys in the drinking water revolving fund shall be spent in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions of any state revolving program fund established by the safe drinking water act and may be used:

(I) To provide assistance to governmental agencies and private nonprofit entities for projects that appear on the drinking water project eligibility list, referred to in this section as "eligible projects"; and

(II) For any other purposes permitted by the safe drinking water act.

(c) The authority may spend moneys in the drinking water revolving fund for financial assistance to governmental agencies and private nonprofit entities for eligible projects, including expenditures by any of the following means:

(I) Any means specified in the safe drinking water act;

(II) Making loans to governmental agencies and private nonprofit entities;

(III) Purchasing or refinancing obligations of governmental agencies and private nonprofit entities if the debt obligations were incurred after October 14, 1993, or for a project to comply with amendments to regulations enacted by the 1986 amendments to the safe drinking water act;

(IV) Securing or purchasing insurance for debt obligations;

(V) Securing or providing moneys for payment of the principal and interest on bonds of the authority;

(VI) Securing or providing moneys for payment of the principal and interest on other bonds issued to finance eligible projects;

(VII) Providing for the costs of administering the drinking water revolving fund, including the administrative costs of state agencies;

(VIII) Investing money that is not currently needed for the operation of the drinking water revolving fund in the manner determined by the authority. All interest earned on these investments shall be credited to the specified account, if any, in the drinking water revolving fund.

(IX) Providing for any other expenditure that is consistent with the safe drinking water act and state law.

(3) (a) (I) The authority may make and contract to make loans to governmental agencies and private nonprofit entities in accordance with and subject to this section to finance the cost of eligible projects that the governmental agency or private nonprofit entity may lawfully undertake or acquire under state law and for which the governmental agency or private nonprofit entity is entitled by law to borrow money. The authority may make the loans subject to terms and conditions determined by the authority to be consistent with the purposes of the loans, and, to the extent that moneys originating in grants from the federal government are the source of the loans, consistent with the provisions of the safe drinking water act.

(II) Loans by the authority and the terms and conditions of the loans are subject to financial analysis by the division of local government in the department of local affairs. The financial analysis must include an analysis of the capacity to repay a loan and the need for financial assistance. The loans must be evidenced by notes, bonds, or other obligations of the borrower that are issued to the authority. In the case of a governmental agency or private nonprofit entity, notes and bonds to be issued to the authority must be authorized and issued pursuant to this paragraph (a).

(III) All notes, bonds, or other obligations evidencing a loan from the authority may be sold at private sale to the authority at any price, whether or not less than par value. The denominations, the times for payment of principal and interest, and the provisions for redemption prior to maturity of the notes, bonds, or other obligations are as agreed by the authority and the borrower. Each loan to a governmental agency or private nonprofit entity and the notes, bonds, or other obligations thereby issued must bear interest at a rate or rates per annum at or below the market interest rate and be for terms that are agreed upon by the authority and the borrower and are in compliance with the safe drinking water act.

(b) From moneys in the drinking water revolving fund, the authority may purchase or refinance or purchase insurance for the payment of all or any portion of the principal and interest on bonds, notes, or other obligations issued by a governmental agency to finance an eligible project that the governmental agency may lawfully undertake or acquire under state law and for which the governmental agency is authorized by law to borrow money. The purchase or refinancing or purchase of insurance by the authority is subject to financial analysis by the division of local government in the department of local affairs. The financial analysis shall include an analysis of the capacity to repay a loan and the need for financial assistance.

(c) The authority may charge to and collect from governmental agencies provided financial assistance from the drinking water revolving fund fees and charges in connection with the authority's loans or other services, including, but not limited to, fees and charges sufficient to reimburse the authority for all reasonable costs it necessarily incurred in providing financial assistance from the drinking water revolving fund, including, but not limited to, costs of financing and the establishment and maintenance of reserves or other funds as the authority may determine is reasonable.

(4) (a) The initial drinking water project eligibility list shall be developed by the division of administration in the department of public health and environment.

(b) Additions or modifications to the drinking water project eligibility list shall be developed by the water quality control commission and shall be submitted to the general assembly on or before January 15 of each year. The additions or modifications shall conform to applicable provisions of the safe drinking water act and state law. On or before April 1 of each year, the additions or modifications shall be adopted by the passage of a joint resolution that is approved by a majority vote of both houses of the general assembly and that is presented to the governor in accordance with section 39 of article V of the state constitution.

(c) Moneys shall not be spent from the drinking water revolving fund or bonds issued by the authority pursuant to subsection (6) of this section for any project unless the project is on the drinking water project eligibility list approved in accordance with this subsection (4) or is an emergency project in accordance with paragraph (d) of this subsection (4). Financial assistance for a project pursuant to this section may be provided regardless of the rank, if any, of the project on the eligibility list; except that any priority for eligible projects established or required by the safe drinking water act shall apply in the issuance of financial assistance if the source of the financial assistance is grant moneys from the federal government.

(d) The water quality control commission may amend the drinking water project eligibility list at any time, pursuant to its regular procedures, to include drinking water projects that it determines and declares to be emergency projects needed to prevent or address threats to the public health or environment. No later than January 15 of each year, the authority shall provide to the general assembly a listing of all emergency projects for which moneys from the drinking water revolving fund have been expended in the preceding calendar year.

(5) (a) The division of local government in the department of local affairs, the division of administration in the department of public health and environment, and the authority shall develop an intended use plan that complies with the safe drinking water act.

(b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2005, p. 40, § 3, effective March 23, 2005.)

(6) The authority may issue bonds pursuant to this article to finance the cost of providing financial assistance from the drinking water revolving fund and to provide reserves therefor pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.

(7) On behalf of the state and with the written approval of the water quality control commission, the authority may enter into any agreements with the federal government as necessary to comply with any provisions of the safe drinking water act and if otherwise required to provide for any capitalization of the drinking water revolving fund from federal grant moneys.

(8) Sections 37-95-107 and 37-95-107.5 shall not apply to any project on the drinking water project eligibility list approved in accordance with subsection (4) of this section.

(9) The authority may, acting in its discretion and with the approval of the governor, transfer moneys from the drinking water revolving fund to the water pollution control revolving fund created and administered pursuant to section 37-95-107.6, if the transfer of such moneys is permitted by applicable federal law and the terms of any agreement between the state and the United States relating to the drinking water revolving fund.
C.R.S. § 37-80.5-106 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 80.5 / Section 37-80.5-106
37-80.5-106. Report
Status: in_force

37-80.5-106. Report. (1) The state engineer shall submit a report to the general assembly and the governor on or before November 1, 2005, regarding:

(a) The effectiveness of the program;

(b) Existing statutory, regulatory, or contractual constraints on the successful use of water banking within Colorado;

(c) Institutional constraints upon the successful use of water banking within Colorado;

(d) Interstate compact constraints upon the successful use of water banking within Colorado;

(e) Social or economic constraints upon the successful use of water banking within Colorado; and

(f) Any recommended limitations upon the use of water banks within Colorado, with specific reference to the time, place, or type of use of waters made available under such recommended limitations and the length of agreements implementing the same.
C.R.S. § 37-47-118 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 47 / Section 37-47-118
37-47-118. Directors bound by financing plan
Status: in_force

37-47-118. Directors bound by financing plan. (1) The board of directors of said district shall be bound by the plan of financing set forth in the petition for the organization of the subdistrict and approved by the decree of the district court. The appointment of appraisers shall not be necessary in the event that the plan adopted provides that general obligations of the subdistrict are to be issued or provides for the issuance of revenue warrants which shall be a lien and charge upon the rental and income from the irrigation works or reservoirs or other improvements to be constructed under the plan adopted and the rental derived from any such works. Said warrants shall be payable in such denominations, with interest at a rate not exceeding six percent per annum which may be fixed by the board of directors of said district pursuant to the order and decree of the court. The board shall pledge the income and rentals from said irrigation works or water supplied therethrough, and the subdistrict shall not be otherwise obligated for the payment thereof.

(2) At the time said revenue warrants are issued, the board of directors of the district shall make and enter in the minutes of the proceeding a resolution in which the due dates of said revenue warrants, the amount of interest thereon, which shall not exceed six percent per annum, the general provisions of said revenue warrants and a recital that the same are payable out of rental and income only are set forth and shall require the payment of an assessment or annual rental charge by the persons who are to use or derive benefit from the water or other service furnished through said improvements or works, sufficient to meet said payments, and the resolution shall be irrepealable during the time that any of said revenue warrants are outstanding and unpaid. Said revenue warrants shall be signed "Water Users' Association No. .... in the Southwestern Water Conservation District, By ...., President, Attest ...., Secretary", or "Special Improvement District No. .... in the Southwestern Water Conservation District, By ...., President, Attest ...., Secretary". They shall be countersigned by the treasurer.

(3) General obligation bonds of said subdistrict shall be signed in the same manner as provided for revenue warrants and shall recite that the same are issued pursuant to the provisions of this article and are to be payable at the time and in the manner and with the rate of interest therein specified, and that the same were issued under and pursuant to a decree of court and a resolution of the board of directors authorizing the issue of said obligations and referring to the date of said resolution. Said bonds shall further recite that they are payable from funds to be derived by assessments and tax levies against the property in said subdistrict and not otherwise, and that the same are not to be deemed as an obligation of the southwestern water conservation district but only as an obligation of said subdistrict, and that the district itself is not to be obligated in any manner for the payment of said bonds.
C.R.S. § 37-50-105 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 50 / Section 37-50-105
37-50-105. Compensation of directors
Status: in_force

37-50-105. Compensation of directors. The directors of the district shall receive as compensation a sum not to exceed one hundred dollars per day while actually engaged in the business of the district, and, in addition, the directors shall be entitled to their actual traveling and transportation expenses when away from their respective places of residence on district business.
C.R.S. § 37-46-146 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 46 / Section 37-46-146
37-46-146. Investments and securities
Status: in_force

37-46-146. Investments and securities. (1) The board of directors of the district or subdistrict, respectively, issuing bonds under this article, subject to any contractual limitations from time to time imposed upon the district or subdistrict by any resolution authorizing the issuance of the outstanding bonds of the district or subdistrict or by any trust indenture or other proceedings pertaining thereto, may cause to be invested and reinvested any proceeds of taxes, any pledged revenues, and any proceeds of bonds issued under this article in securities meeting the investment requirements established in part 6 of article 75 of title 24, C.R.S., and may cause such proceeds of taxes, revenues, district or subdistrict bonds, and securities to be deposited in any trust bank or trust banks within or without or both within and without this state and secured in such manner and subject to such terms and conditions as the board of directors may determine, with or without the payment of any interest on such deposit, including, without limitation, time deposits evidenced by certificates of deposit.

(2) Any such securities and any certificates of deposit thus held may, from time to time, be sold, and the proceeds may be so reinvested or redeposited as provided in this section.

(3) Sales and redemptions of any such securities and certificates of deposit thus held shall, from time to time, be made in season, so that the proceeds may be applied to the purposes for which the money with which such securities and certificates of deposit were originally acquired was placed in the district or subdistrict treasury.

(4) Any gain from any such investments or reinvestments may be credited to any fund or account pledged for the payment of any district or subdistrict bonds issued under this article, including any reserve therefor, or any other fund or account pertaining to a project or any facilities, or the district's or subdistrict's general fund, subject to any contractual limitations in any proceedings pertaining to outstanding district or subdistrict bonds.

(5) It is lawful for any commercial bank incorporated under the laws of this state which may act as depository of the proceeds of any bonds issued under this article, any securities owned by the district or subdistrict, any proceeds of taxes, any pledged revenues, and any moneys otherwise pertaining to a project or any facilities, or any combination thereof, to furnish such indemnifying bonds and to pledge such securities as may be required by the board of directors.
C.R.S. § 37-48-132 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 48 / Section 37-48-132
37-48-132. Removal of structures
Status: in_force

37-48-132. Removal of structures. (1) For the accomplishment of the official plan, the board of directors has full power to improve in alignment, section, grade, or location, or in 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, any flume, aqueduct, or telephone, telegraph, gas, oil, sewer, water, or other pipeline, or any other construction over, across, in, into, under, or through any such watercourse, or it may require the same to be done. Such provisions 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, 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 subdistrict and without any claim for damages against the subdistrict or district; but the subdistrict 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 subdistrict 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. § 37-47-126 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 47 / Section 37-47-126
37-47-126. Issuance of general obligation bonds and revenue bonds
Status: in_force

37-47-126. Issuance of general obligation bonds and revenue bonds. (1) In the name of the subdistrict and not otherwise, when authorized by the plan of organization and decree of court organizing said subdistrict to do so, the district may issue general obligations or bonds which shall constitute a lien against the real property in said subdistrict. Said obligations shall bear interest at a rate such that the net effective interest rate of the issue does not exceed the maximum net effective interest rate authorized. Interest shall be payable semiannually, and said obligations may be issued and made payable in series becoming due not less than five years and not more than fifty years after the date of issue. Such bonds are to be paid from assessments levied from time to time, as the bonds and interest thereon become due, against the real property in said district and not otherwise. The board of directors of said district shall certify to the boards of county commissioners of the several counties in which said subdistrict or any part thereof is located the amount of the levy necessary to pay said bonds as they mature, and also to pay the interest becoming due on all outstanding bonds, at the same time that like certificates are made under this article for assessments on special improvement district bonds, and the procedure for the assessment and collection of revenue or taxes of the county and state are, except as may be otherwise provided in this article, made applicable and are to be followed in the levy of assessments for payment of taxes and collection of principal and interest on such general obligations.

(2) The subdistrict, in its own name, may issue revenue bonds to finance, in whole or in part, the construction of works, reservoirs, or other improvements for the beneficial use of water for the purposes for which it has been or may be appropriated, whether or not the interest on such bonds may be subject to taxation. Such revenue bonds shall be issued in such denominations and with such maximum net effective interest rate as may be fixed by the board of directors of the subdistrict and shall bear interest such that the net effective interest rate of the bonds does not exceed the maximum net effective interest rate authorized. The board shall pledge only rental proceeds, service charges, and other income (or any combination thereof) from such works or other improvements, and the subdistrict shall not be otherwise obligated for the payment thereof. At the time said revenue bonds are issued, the board of directors of the subdistrict shall make and enter in the minutes of the proceeding a resolution in which the due dates of such revenue bonds, the rates of interest thereon, the general provisions of the bonds, and a recital that the same are payable only out of rental proceeds, service charges, and other income (or any combination thereof) are set forth. In addition, the board of directors shall require the payment of rental charges, service charges, or other charges by the political subdivisions or persons who are to use or derive benefits from the water or other services furnished by such works or improvements. Such charges shall be sufficient to pay operation and maintenance expenses thereof, to meet said bond payments, and to accumulate and maintain reserve and replacement accounts pertaining thereto as set forth in such resolution. Such resolution shall be irrepealable during the time that any of the revenue bonds are outstanding and unpaid. The revenue bonds shall be signed "Water Users' Association No. ... in the Southwestern Water Conservation District, By ............, President. Attest ..........., Secretary" or "Special Improvement District No. .... in the Southwestern Water Conservation District, By ........., President. Attest ............, Secretary", and they shall be countersigned by the treasurer.
C.R.S. § 37-50-118 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 50 / Section 37-50-118
37-50-118. Assessment record as evidence
Status: in_force

37-50-118. Assessment record as evidence. The record of assessments contained in the respective assessment records of the district shall be prima facie evidence in all courts of all matters contained in the record.
C.R.S. § 37-88-109 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 88 / Section 37-88-109
37-88-109. County control of reservoirs
Status: in_force

37-88-109. County control of reservoirs. (1) The board of county commissioners of any county wherein is situated any state reservoir shall have charge and control of such reservoir and, without expense to the state of Colorado, other than expenses payable from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund and such financial assistance or other aid as may be available to nonstate-owned reservoirs, shall maintain and keep said reservoir in good condition and provide for the storage of water as contemplated in the law providing for the construction of said reservoir and also for the distribution of said water under the direction of the division engineer for the district in which said reservoir is situated, at such times as the scarcity of water in the stream which such reservoir is intended to reinforce demands that the water in said stream should be replenished for agricultural purposes; except that said waters shall be distributed by said division engineer pro rata without reference to priority of water rights and also except that the counties in which said reservoirs are situated shall assume and shall be held responsible for any damages resulting from breakage of the dams or water discharges therefrom. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any state reservoir constructed primarily for the purpose of irrigating state lands, but any such reservoir shall remain in the control of the state board of land commissioners.

(2) In the case of reservoirs owned by the division of parks and wildlife, the state engineer or the division engineer in the district in which such reservoirs are located shall have the authority to cause the release of water stored therein for domestic and municipal purposes in time of scarcity. All expenses occasioned by the release of such waters for said purposes shall be borne by the counties or the beneficiaries of such releases, and said reservoirs, when refilled in priority, shall be restocked at the expense of the county or the beneficiary of said release.
C.R.S. § 37-25-103 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 25 / Section 37-25-103
37-25-103. Bonds - issuance - interest
Status: in_force

37-25-103. Bonds - issuance - interest. (1) If a majority of the votes cast is "Bonds - Yes", the board of directors shall immediately cause bonds in such amount to be issued payable in series as follows: At the expiration of eleven years, not less than five percent of the whole amount of said bonds; at the expiration of twelve years, not less than six percent of the whole amount of said bonds; at the expiration of thirteen years, not less than seven percent of the whole amount of said bonds; at the expiration of fourteen years, not less than eight percent of the whole amount of said bonds; at the expiration of fifteen years, not less than nine percent of the whole amount of said bonds; at the expiration of sixteen years, not less than ten percent of the whole amount of said bonds; at the expiration of seventeen years, not less than eleven percent of the whole amount of said bonds; at the expiration of eighteen years, not less than thirteen percent of the whole amount of said bonds; at the expiration of nineteen years, not less than fifteen percent of the whole amount of said bonds; and, at the expiration of twenty years, a percentage sufficient to pay off the remainder of said bonds.

(2) The several enumerated percentages shall be of the entire amount of the bond issue.

(3) Each bond must be payable at the given time for its entire amount and not for a percentage.

(4) The bonds shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed eight percent per annum payable semiannually on June 1 and December 1 of each year. The principal and interest shall be payable at the location the board of directors designates in the bond.
C.R.S. § 37-43-123 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 43 / Part 1 / Section 37-43-123
37-43-123. Title in seepage or waste waters
Status: in_force

37-43-123. Title in seepage or waste waters. Whenever it appears necessary, proper, or beneficial to the lands affected thereby to drain such lands or any portion thereof on account of the irrigation which has been done, or which is intended to be done under such laws, whether for the purpose of more beneficially carrying on such irrigation, or increasing the available water supply of the district or for any other purpose, whether the irrigation works have already been constructed or not, it is the duty of the board of directors to provide for such drainage, and said board and its officers, agents, and employees shall do all necessary and proper acts for the construction, repair, maintenance, and management of drainage work for such purposes. Any irrigation district shall have a first and preferred right to the beneficial use of all seepage, waste, and percolating waters flowing within said district or collected and conveyed by drainage works constructed in any portion of the lands of the district. Any segregated lands drained under the provisions of this section and section 37-43-122 shall be immediately reinstated, placed upon the tax roll by the county assessor, and taxed for irrigation district and drainage purposes, and all of said lands shall bear their pro rata share of all bonded indebtedness of such irrigation district. Any lands not included in said irrigation district before, which are benefited by said drainage system, shall be assessed by the county assessor and taxed for irrigation district and drainage purposes and shall bear a full proportion of all of said irrigation district bonds and costs of drainage, in accordance with the terms of payment specified by said district.
C.R.S. § 37-31-121 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 31 / Section 37-31-121
37-31-121. Meetings public - quorum - records
Status: in_force

37-31-121. Meetings public - quorum - records. Meetings of the board of directors shall be public, and two directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. On all questions requiring a vote there shall be a concurrence of at least two directors. The record of the board shall be open to the inspection of the public during business hours.
C.R.S. § 37-95-107.5 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 95 / Section 37-95-107.5
37-95-107.5. Legislative declaration - specific project authorizations
Status: in_force

37-95-107.5. Legislative declaration - specific project authorizations. (1) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the general assembly to protect and foster the full utilization of Colorado's limited surface water resources by allocation thereof through the operation of the appropriation system as provided by sections 5 and 6 of article XVI of the state constitution. Any judicial interpretation or other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the water rights appropriation and adjudication system of the state of Colorado shall continue to be utilized to establish priority of right to the use of the natural streams within the state which include groundwater tributary thereto.

(2) It is the recognition and intent of the general assembly that investment in the state's water resources for future generations must be made from state funds, from private capital, or from other moneys available to the authority. Major Colorado water projects should be developed as soon as possible in anticipation of demand and revenues.

(3) Several compacts relating to interstate streams have been entered into by the state on behalf of the people of the state of Colorado to reserve for the people the right to the use of such waters under the appropriation doctrine. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the general assembly to fully utilize, for the maximum benefit of all the people, said natural stream resources. To achieve such utilization, the general assembly hereby directs the authority to proceed with project development and financing in accordance with agreements between the project sponsor and the authority, and consistent with the provisions of this article, such projects as the Colorado water conservation board identifies in statewide water supply initiatives and associated feasibility studies and other projects identified by the authority.

(4) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 2412, § 6, effective June 5, 2003.)

(5) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to the financing of any small water resources project.
C.R.S. § 37-3.5-105 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 3.5 / Section 37-3.5-105
37-3.5-105. Election procedure - ballot
Status: in_force

37-3.5-105. Election procedure - ballot. (1) Any election held for the purpose of submitting the proposition of dissolution of a district may be held separately or may be consolidated or held concurrently with any other election authorized by law. The election shall be conducted by the secretary of the board of directors of such district under the supervision of the court, and the court shall fix the manner of holding the same and shall also fix the compensation to be paid the officers of the election and shall designate the precincts and polling places. The court shall also appoint for each polling place and for each precinct, from the electors thereof, the officers of such election, which officers shall consist of three judges, one of whom shall act as clerk, who shall constitute a board of election for each polling place.

(2) The description of precincts may be made by reference to any order of the board of county commissioners of the county in which the district or any part thereof is situated or by reference to any previous order or resolution of the board or by detailed description of such precincts. Precincts established by the boards of the various counties may be consolidated for special elections held under this article. In the event that any such election is called to be held concurrently with any other election or is consolidated therewith, the court order need not designate precincts or polling places or the names of officers of election but shall contain a reference to the act or order calling such other election and fixing the precincts and polling places and appointing election officers therefrom.

(3) The respective election boards shall conduct the election in their respective precincts in the manner prescribed by law for the holding of general elections and shall make their returns to the secretary of the district. At any regular or special meeting of the board held not earlier than five days following the date of such election, the returns thereof shall be canvassed and the results declared. In the event that any election held under this article is consolidated with any primary or general election, the returns thereof shall be made and canvassed at the time and in the manner provided by law for the canvass of the returns of such primary or general election. It is the duty of such canvassing body to promptly certify and transmit to the board a statement of the result of the vote upon the proposition submitted under this article. Upon receipt of such certificate, it is the duty of the board to tabulate and declare the results of the election held under this article.

(4) The results of such election shall be certified promptly by the secretary of the board of directors to the court. It is the duty of the secretary of the board of directors of the district to prepare ballots to be used at the election on which shall be inscribed the words "For Dissolution" and "Against Dissolution". The costs of the election and ballots shall be paid by the district under the supervision of the court, and the district shall be authorized, under the supervision of the court, to borrow funds for this purpose. Irrespective of any other provision of this article, the district shall not be required or authorized to hold any election on the proposition of such borrowing.
C.R.S. § 37-92-501.5 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 92 / Part 5 / Section 37-92-501.5
37-92-501.5. Special procedures with respect to plans for augmentation
Status: in_force

37-92-501.5. Special procedures with respect to plans for augmentation. Consistent with the decisions of the water judges establishing the basis for approval for plans for augmentation and for the administration of groundwater, the state engineer and division engineers shall exercise the broadest latitude possible in the administration of waters under their jurisdiction to encourage and develop augmentation plans and voluntary exchanges of water and may make such rules and regulations and shall take such other reasonable action as may be necessary in order to allow continuance of existing uses and to assure maximum beneficial utilization of the waters of this state. In so doing, the state engineer shall curtail all out-of-priority diversions, the depletions from which are not so replaced as to prevent injury to vested water rights.
C.R.S. § 37-95-107 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 95 / Section 37-95-107
37-95-107. Feasibility studies - repayment of costs
Status: in_force

37-95-107. Feasibility studies - repayment of costs. (1) (a) (I) Before any proposed project can receive consideration for construction funding by the authority, the Colorado water conservation board must first review the feasibility study of any such proposed project, and the general assembly must authorize the authority to proceed to consider the construction of any proposed project.

(II) (A) Upon receipt of a feasibility study by the Colorado water conservation board, said board shall review such study and forward the study to the general assembly together with its recommendation as to whether or not the proposed project should be authorized by the general assembly.

(B) Upon receipt of a feasibility study from the Colorado water conservation board, the general assembly may authorize the authority, by means of a joint resolution signed by the governor, to proceed with the consideration of any project that the general assembly deems to be in the interests of and to the advantage of the people of this state. However, such joint resolution shall in no way require or compel the authority to fund or in any way finance and proceed with the development, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, enlargement, extension, improvement, furnishing, equipping, maintenance, repair, management, operation, or disposition of, or participation in any proposed project. A decision to proceed, when made subsequent to such joint resolution, shall be entirely within the discretion of the authority.

(C) Should the authority choose to proceed with a project, then the authority shall make, or cause to be made, the necessary final designs and specifications for such project; except that the final project location, operation, and purposes must be in substantial compliance with the feasibility study for a project that was reviewed by the Colorado water conservation board. The authority shall also develop and implement detailed plans for the financing of projects with which it chooses to proceed. The terms and conditions of such financing shall be at the sole discretion of the authority.

(III) The provisions of this subsection (1) shall not apply to any small water resources project; except that, in the case of any small water resources project that consists of or includes raw water diversion or storage facilities, the board shall promptly forward a copy of the project loan application to the Colorado water conservation board for informational purposes.

(b) The state engineer shall not issue a permit or license or approve plans, pursuant to any law or rule governing such actions, for construction of any water management facility or hydroelectric power facility for which the authority has paid in whole or in part for a feasibility study or an environmental assessment or environmental impact study without a written resolution or written statement by the authority notifying the state engineer that the applicant has reimbursed the authority for its expenditures for the conduct of such studies.

(2) If the Colorado water conservation board enters into a contract for the performance of a feasibility study for a proposed raw water project with a governmental agency and incurs expenses in performing such feasibility study, then the authority shall provide for the reimbursement of such expenses out of its financing contract with the governmental agency for such project prior to the start of construction only when:

(a) The Colorado water conservation board's contract with the governmental agency sponsoring the project unconditionally requires the repayment of all of the expenses associated with the feasibility study prior to the start of construction, regardless of the funding source for such construction; and

(b) Such governmental agency obtains financing from the authority.

(3) The reimbursement obligation of the authority pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall not apply:

(a) To the expenses of any feasibility study commenced or initiated by the Colorado water conservation board prior to June 5, 2003;

(b) To the expenses of any full or partial stream-wide, basin-wide, or statewide feasibility study that is not focused on a single discrete raw water supply project;

(c) To the expenses of any feasibility study identified and authorized or directed by law to be performed by the Colorado water conservation board without a contract with another governmental agency for such study;

(d) To the study of any domestic water supply project;

(e) If the Colorado water conservation board waives the obligation of the governmental agency to make such repayment or if the Colorado water conservation board releases, in whole or in part, such governmental agency from its obligation to make such repayment; and

(f) If otherwise agreed to by the authority and the Colorado water conservation board in an agreement entered into pursuant to section 37-60-106 (1)(t).
C.R.S. § 37-24-106 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 24 / Section 37-24-106
37-24-106. Right-of-way across state lands
Status: in_force

37-24-106. Right-of-way across state lands. The right-of-way is given, dedicated, and set apart to locate, construct, and maintain drainage systems and works in, over, through, across, or upon any of the lands which are the property of the state.
C.R.S. § 37-26-114 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 26 / Section 37-26-114
37-26-114. Money applied proportionately - when
Status: in_force

37-26-114. Money applied proportionately - when. In the event there shall not be sufficient funds to the credit of a district for the payment in full of an installment of principal or interest when due, the district treasurer shall apply the money in the respective funds in proportionate payments on all bonds or coupons then due, endorsing on the bonds or coupons a notation showing the payments made. After respective maturities, the district treasurer shall make disbursements whenever he has sufficient funds to pay five percent of the total principal or twenty-five percent of the total interest due at maturity.
C.R.S. § 37-40-101 — CO Code / Title 37 / Article 40 / Section 37-40-101
37-40-101. Legislative declaration
Status: in_force

37-40-101. Legislative declaration. It is declared to be the policy of the state of Colorado to encourage transmission of information among agencies of the state of Colorado, political subdivisions of the state of Colorado, and private citizens and businesses of the state of Colorado concerning the conservation, protection, and development of the water resources of the state of Colorado and to coordinate the efforts of these entities and individuals in the field of water resource conservation, protection, and development; and participation in and support of organizations organized or existing for such purposes is declared to be a public purpose.