Grand County
is the headwaters of the Colorado River, probably the most
managed, controversial, and litigated river in the world.
Starting as a trickle of snowmelt in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Colorado River is 1,450 miles long, it has more
than 20 dams, supplies water to more than 30 million people
in the United States and Mexico, irrigates around 3.5 million
acres of farmland.
Back in the late 1800s, farmers and people on the Front
Range had a need for the water coming from this side of the
mountains to their side on the plains. Before the Titanic sailed
the ocean blue, water was being allocated throughout Colorado
via a complicated series of laws which facilitated transport of west slope water to people on the other side of the 12,000ft
peaks. We didn’t think about it because the water was right in
front of us and there appeared to be plenty for all. Now we live
with laws that are more than 100 years old and growth that
requires more water.
Controversies over water rights in Colorado have been
an issue among the states for years. In Grand County alone there
are over 2,500 claims to water. These include wells, springs,
creeks, and the river itself. If a right has a “call on,” meaning it
is exercising its senior right to the water, upstream junior users
must stop diverting water so that it reaches that calling water
right. Today, because of all the rights, special arrangements, and
reservoirs, it is a serious accounting problem to make sure the
correct amount of water is going to the proper place on time.
There are people keeping track of every drop of that water. The
state engineer is responsible for making sure all rights are used
in accordance with the water right decrees. In Grand County two
water commissioners work for the division engineer appointed
by the state engineer. Their job is to make sure no one is abusing
their water rights. Water rights are so important that they are
often sold for huge sums of money. You may have the best land
with the best view, but even more valuable are the water rights to
the river flowing through your land.
For more information click here.
Grand County Water Commissioners
- East Grand (includes Hot Sulphur Springs), contact Sue Avre at (970) 531-2696
- West Grand, contact Tim Ritschard at (970) 319-5291
- Lead Water Commissioner: Neal Misbach (970) 531-1159