For over 125 years, the Division of Water Resources (DWR), directed by the State Engineer, has been empowered to administer all water rights according to the Prior Appropriation Doctrine (in short, 1st in time, 1st in right). Most of this work is done by Division Offices located in the seven major river basins of the state, directed by the Division Engineers. Division Engineers are supported by water commissioners to ensure the priority system is followed, enforcing the decrees and water laws of the State of Colorado.
Whether water is used simply to drink from your household tap or to irrigate hundreds of acres of cropland, everyone in Colorado benefits from the orderly distribution and management of the state’s most precious resource. For more information, read the Beginner's Guide to Water Administration, as well as the Synopsis of Colorado Water Law.
Water Administration Video & Subject Areas
Learn more about Water Administration topics by watching our video on Colorado’s Water Priority System and the work of DWR's Water Commissioners. Visit the subject areas below for more details on topics such as Augmentation, Drought, Interstate Compacts, Land Divisions, Pond Management, Rainwater, Storm Water, Graywater, Substitute Water Supply Plans (SWSPs), and Water Rights.
Applications & Tools
Augmentation Plans
Court-approved programs to increase the supply of water available for beneficial use
Land Divisions &
Water Supply
Planning and review of water supplies including subdivisions
Pond Management & Restoration Projects
Water rights considerations for constructed ponds, stream improvements, and wetland mitigation
Rainwater, Storm Water
& Graywater
Rainwater collection, rain barrels, storm water detention, green roofs & graywater reuse
SWSPs &
Administrative Approvals
Substitute Water Supply Plans and other temporary administrative approvals
Groundwater
Groundwater administration and enforcement is one of the primary responsibilities of the Division of Water Resources. The Colorado Ground Water Law of 1957 established the permitting requirement of ground water wells. Since 1969, surface and groundwater rights have been administered with a recognition of the connection between the two. Every new well in the state that diverts groundwater must have a well permit. If wells do not meet any statutory exemptions and their priority dates are not senior enough to divert in priority, they may be able to operate pursuant to an Augmentation Plan decreed by the water court. Non-compliance with a well permit, decree of the court, Rules, or statute may result in the issuance of orders for compliance and further enforcement from DWR.
DWR provides staff to assist in technical support to the Colorado Ground Water Commission, in the exercise of its duties in the Designated Basins, generally located on the eastern plains of Colorado. The Designated Basins are separate from the system of water rights under the purview of the water courts. Well permits for wells located in the Designated Basins are issued by the staff of DWR based on statute and the Rules of the Colorado Ground Water Commission. DWR also provides staff assistance for the Board of Examiners of Water Well and Pump Installation Contractors. This board oversees the safe and proper installation of well pump equipment, and regulates the proper, safe construction of wells throughout the state.
Surface Water
DWR administers the waters of the state and Colorado's water sharing agreements with other states. Surface and groundwater are recognized as being connected, such that pumping groundwater in most locations has a depletive effect on surface water. Water administration is the enforcement of the priority system of water rights, which includes curtailment of junior water rights that are not in priority and not operating in accordance with Augmentation Plans or administrative approvals.
In order to control water effectively, a satellite monitoring system of gages on lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and streams has been set up throughout the state. Colorado Decision Support System (CDSS) Data and Tools provide a wealth of surface water administration information including streamflows, diversions, and call data.
Important Links
- Beginner's Guide to Water Administration
- Colorado Average Streamflow Map
- Designated Ground Water Basins
- Flow Measurement
- Water Education Colorado (Guides to Water Law, Groundwater, Transmountain Diversions, & Where your Water Comes From)
- Well Permitting
The Agricultural Water Protection Water Right (Ag-PWR) is a unique type of water right that provides the owner of an irrigation water right the opportunity to obtain a water court decree quantifying the historic consumptive use (HCU) and return flow obligations of said water right without identifying a new use in the decree. An Ag-PWR decree still results in continued irrigation, but should the chance for a lease occur, the temporary change in place and use can occur in a timely manner as the legal and engineering determinations have already been made. The use of this tool was expanded from just divisions 1 and 2 to statewide under Senate Bill 24-197.
The Division of Water Resources (DWR) will be holding a series of hybrid stakeholder meetings to discuss the Ag-PWR rules in Divisions 3-7 in late July and early August of 2025. The dates and locations are listed below.
- July 23rd, 2025 - Durango @ 5:30PM: Location: Durango Community Recreation Center, 2700 Main Ave, Durango, CO 81301
- July 24th, 2025 - Montrose @ 5:30PM: Location: TBD
- July 28th, 2025 - Alamosa @ 6:00PM: Location: Rio Grande Water Conservation District, 8805 Independence Way, Alamosa, CO 81101
- August 4th, 2025 - Steamboat Springs @ 4:30PM: Location: Bud Werner Memorial Library, 1289 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
- August 5th, 2025 - Glenwood Springs @ 4:45PM: Location: Glenwood Springs Branch Library, 815 Cooper Ave, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
Redline Rules will be coming soon in the table below.