Colo. R. Civ. P. 90 (2026)

(a) The water clerk shall receive and file all applications and number them upon payment of filing fees. The water clerk shall not accept for filing any application that is not accompanied by the required filing fee. Each application filed within each division shall be consecutively numbered, preceded by the year and the letters CW (e.g. 2009CW100) to identify such applications as concerning water matters. The applicant for a finding of reasonable diligence relating to a conditional water right and/or to make a conditional water right absolute shall include in the application a listing of the original and any other prior case numbers pertaining to the conditional water right included in the application; thereafter, the assigned case number for the application shall appear on any document, pleading, or other item in the case. Referee rulings and water court judgments and decrees shall include all relevant prior case numbers.

(b) The water clerk shall include in the resume all applications filed during the preceding month that substantially contain the information required by Rule 3 of the Uniform Local Rules for All State Water Court Divisions and the standard forms approved by the water judges under C.R.S. § 37-92-302(2)(a), which together provide the information sufficient for publication to the public and potential parties. The water clerk, in consultation with the referee pursuant to Rule 6 of the Uniform Local Rules For All State

Ft. Lyon Canal Co. v. Arkansas Sugar Beet & Irrigated Land Co., 39 Colo. 332, 34 P. 278 (1907). At page 344 thereof the court said: All persons are bound to take notice of a public law. The irrigation statutes are public, and apply to all persons taking water from the same source. The waters of the state belong to the public, and, as we said, in substance, in the original opinion, the state in its sovereign capacity had the right to provide a reasonable method whereby such rights might be adjudicated and settled, and to require claimants of such rights to present them in a prescribed manner, within a prescribed time, and unless the law in this respect was obeyed, that all claims not thus presented should be barred. That is what the statutes on the subject of the use of water for irrigation have provided. All persons are bound to take notice of these provisions.

This limitation was increased from two to three years by the 1970 amendment, section 37-92-304(10), C.R.S. 1973.

for Entry of Findings of Reasonable Diligence

Water Court Divisions, shall promptly refer to the water judge for consideration and disposition any application that does not substantially contain the information required by Rule 3 of the Uniform Local Rules For All State Water Court Divisions and the standard forms approved by the water judges under C.R.S. § 37-92-302(2)(a). Any such application shall not be published in the resume pending disposition by the water judge. The water clerk shall promptly inform the applicant that the application has been referred to the water judge and provide the applicant with a list of the required information that was not contained in the application.

(c) In determining whether or not to order publication of the application in the resume pursuant to C.R.S. § 37-92-302(3)(a), the water judge shall promptly review the application and shall employ an inquiry notice standard in conducting the review. Upon a finding that the application does not provide sufficient inquiry notice contemplated by Rule 3 of the Uniform Local Rules for All State Water Court Divisions and the standard forms approved by the water judges under C.R.S. § 37-92-302(2)(a) to justify publication, the water judge shall set a date pursuant to C.R.C.P. 41(b)(2) and C.R.C.P. 121, Section 1-10, by which date the application will be dismissed unless, prior to that date, a sufficient application is filed. The application will retain its original filing date unless and until the application is dismissed.

(d) For purposes of relation back of the filing date of a subsequent applicant’s application for a water right or conditional water right pursuant to C.R.S. § 37-92-306.1, the subsequent application shall be filed within sixty days of the date the prior application is published in the resume.

(e) Upon request, the water clerk shall provide a prospective applicant or opposer with one copy of the form for the relevant application or statement of opposition. The standard forms for applications and statements of opposition may also be found in the ‘‘Water Courts’’ section of the Colorado Judicial Branch web page.

Source: Entire rule amended and effective February 19, 2009.

Editor’s note: Amendments to this section, adopted February 19, 2009, are applicable to applications filed on or after July 1, 2009, but any portions thereof that can be adapted for use by the water judge or referee without prejudice to the parties may be utilized in existing cases.