Surface Water
The Colorado Division of Water Resources (DWR), also referred to as the State Engineer’s Office, administers water rights, evaluates and oversees the well permitting process, inspects wells and dams, and oversees the work of field water commissioners who are in charge of physically allocating the water and enforcing compacts, water court decrees, and well permits. Through the 1969 Water Right Determination & Administration Act, the Colorado General Assembly created seven water divisions based on the major watersheds of the state. Each division has a water court which has jurisdiction over all water rights applications, reviews cases of reasonable diligence for conditional water rights, changes of water rights, exchanges and augmentation plans, and appeals from certain State Engineer or Division Engineer actions (i.e. substitute water supply plans). Water courts and DWR field offices for each division are headquartered in the following locations (WEC, 2015; State of Colorado, 2015):