Frequently asked questions

There are several common reasons your delivery may be zero or very low:

• River call: A senior water right holder downstream has placed a "call" on the river, requiring junior rights — including ours — to stop or reduce diversions. This is the most common cause of no water during dry periods.
• Low stream flow: When the source stream is running low, the company may divert less than the full decreed amount, reducing everyone's pro-rata share proportionally.
• Rotation: During low-flow events the Superintendent may be running a rotation schedule — each stockholder receives the full available flow for a concentrated time window rather than a trickle all day. Check with the office for your rotation time.
• Headgate issue: Your headgate may be blocked, closed, or damaged. Contact the Superintendent to inspect.
• Off season: The ditch typically runs April through October. Outside that window, the ditch is not in operation.

If you're unsure, call the Superintendent first — they can tell you the current system status within minutes.

When there isn't enough water in the stream to satisfy every water right, the State Engineer's office administers a call: junior (newer) rights are curtailed so senior (older) rights can be filled first (see "What does 'prior appropriation' mean for my water?" below).

When a call is placed on our source stream by a senior right holder, we may be required to reduce or entirely stop our diversion. Your delivery drops proportionally. Calls are administered by the Colorado Division of Water Resources and are beyond the company's control. You can view active calls at dwr.colorado.gov or on the live DWR data feed on our homepage.

A rotation is a managed delivery schedule used when available flow is too low to supply all headgates simultaneously — often because hydraulic head in the ditch is insufficient to push water to every gate at the same time.

Instead of everyone receiving a trickle, the Superintendent assigns each stockholder a dedicated time window to receive the full available flow. Your window is proportional to your shares. For example, if you own 10% of total shares and the rotation covers 7 days, you receive water for roughly 16–17 hours during that period.

The Superintendent notifies affected stockholders of their scheduled window. Contact the office if you haven't received notification during a known low-flow period.

The company typically begins diverting water in early April and ceases operations in late October, depending on stream conditions, weather, and stockholder demand. The exact opening and closing dates vary each year and are announced via the News & Notices page and by direct notice to stockholders.

During the off-season (November–March), the ditch is drained, inspected, and maintained. No water deliveries are made during this period.

Contact the Superintendent directly — their name and cell phone are listed on our Contact page. The Superintendent patrols the system daily during irrigation season and can inspect your headgate, adjust your gate setting, and confirm your delivery measurement. For non-urgent issues, you can also email or call the company office.

A mutual ditch company is a nonprofit corporation organized under Colorado law (C.R.S. Title 7, Article 42) for the sole purpose of delivering water to its stockholders, not to make a profit. Stockholders receive water in proportion to their shares and pay the cost of running the ditch through annual assessments. See About for how the company is organized and governed.

Colorado water law is prior appropriation, "first in time, first in right": in a shortage, older water rights are filled before newer ones. Even with your assessment paid and your headgate in good order, you may receive little or no water in a severe drought. See Water Rights for the company's priorities.

Shares represent fractional ownership of the company and its water right. Owning shares entitles you to a proportional delivery of the water the company diverts each day.

Shares do not guarantee a fixed amount of water — they guarantee a fraction of whatever is available. If the ditch is running at full capacity, a larger share means a larger delivery. During drought or a river call when little water is available, even large stockholders receive proportionally less.

Shares are evidenced by stock certificates issued by the company. Contact the company secretary to confirm your certificate numbers and ownership record.

Shares in a mutual ditch company are privately negotiated between buyer and seller — there is no formal exchange or listing service. Common ways to find buyers or sellers:

• Contact the company office, which may know of stockholders wishing to sell
• Neighboring landowners or irrigators in the service area
• Water brokers

Once a sale is agreed upon, the seller endorses the stock certificate to the buyer and both parties notify the company secretary to update the ownership record and issue a new certificate. There may be a transfer fee.

Important: Shares must remain appurtenant to land within the service area. Consult with a water attorney before transferring shares to a location outside the service area, as this may require a change of use decree from the water court.

Yes. The company's Policies and Procedures allow stockholders to lease shares. A lease must be in writing, and the Board must be notified. Contact the company office before entering into a lease.

The annual assessment is a per-share charge levied on all stockholders to fund the company's operating costs for the year. As a nonprofit mutual company, the assessment covers only what it costs to deliver your water — there is no profit margin.

Assessment funds typically pay for:

• Superintendent and ditch rider wages and mileage
• General labor and operations
• Headgate and ditch maintenance and repairs
• Equipment (excavators, trucks, hand tools)
• Water right administration and legal fees
• Insurance and administrative costs
• Capital improvements approved by the Board

The amount per share is voted by the stockholders at the annual meeting, based on the projected budget. If the stockholders do not set it, the Board does.

Stockholders who do not pay their assessment are considered delinquent. Under the company's bylaws:

• Unpaid assessments carry interest at a rate set by the stockholders or the Board
• No water is delivered to a delinquent stockholder
• The company holds a lien on the stock for unpaid assessments, interest and collection costs, which it may enforce by sale or by suit
• Stock one year or more in arrears may be sold after published and mailed notice; paying the amount due before the sale stops it

If you are experiencing financial hardship, contact the company office before the due date — the Board has discretion to arrange payment plans in appropriate circumstances.

Assessment obligations follow the shares, not just the property. If shares were transferred to you with an unpaid balance, you may be responsible for that balance as the new stockholder of record. Always confirm that assessments are current before completing a real estate transaction involving ditch shares. Request a balance statement from the company secretary as part of your due diligence.

Under the company's bylaws, a stockholder pays to install their headgate (the bylaws call it a "box"), at a time and place the Board approves. Once installed, the headgate becomes company property, and the company maintains and repairs it at its own expense.

Stockholders served by a lateral maintain their own section of that lateral.

Contact the Superintendent if your headgate needs attention.

Any modification to a headgate structure requires prior written approval from the company. Unapproved modifications that affect flow measurement accuracy, the ditch channel, or neighboring deliveries will be required to be corrected at the stockholder's expense.

If your headgate is aging or difficult to operate, the company may be able to assist with replacement planning. Contact the office to discuss.

Contact the Superintendent immediately. Do not attempt major repairs yourself without notifying the company first, as improper repairs can affect your flow measurement and neighboring deliveries. In an emergency where the ditch is being flooded or water is being wasted, call the Superintendent's cell phone — listed on the Contact page.

Colorado law gives the company a right-of-way for the ditch across the land it passes through (C.R.S. § 37-86-102). The right-of-way includes the right to operate, clean, maintain, repair and replace the ditch, and to enter the property with access to the ditch and its banks as reasonably needed (§ 37-86-103).

The width of the right-of-way varies by location. Contact the office if you need to know where it lies on your property. See our Easements & Right-of-Way page for full details.

Any permanent structure — fence, retaining wall, building, landscaping, irrigation equipment — within the company's right-of-way requires prior written approval from the company. Structures that obstruct equipment access or ditch maintenance may have to be removed at the landowner's expense.

Trees and large shrubs within the right-of-way may be removed by the company as needed. If you're planning any project near the ditch, contact the office before breaking ground.

Work over, under or next to the ditch may require a license agreement and approval by the company. Contact the office before planning or performing any work near the ditch. See the Ditch Crossings page for the application.

No. Only water delivered through a properly permitted and measured headgate may be diverted. Taking water directly from the ditch channel without authorization is a violation of Colorado water law and the company's bylaws and may be subject to legal action. All diversions must flow through your designated headgate so the amount can be measured and credited to your allocation.

You own the land, but the company holds a right-of-way for the ditch across it (C.R.S. §§ 37-86-102 and 37-86-103), with the right to access, maintain and use the ditch. You may not alter, fill, or obstruct the ditch without the company's written consent.

The company is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of five stockholder-elected directors. The Board sets policy, approves the annual budget and assessment, and oversees company operations. Day-to-day management is handled by the company's officers and the Superintendent.

See the Board of Directors page for current members.

Stockholders of record are entitled to vote at the annual stockholder meeting, held on a date set by the Board. Each share has one vote, and a fractional share has a fractional vote. If you cannot attend, you may vote by proxy: sign a proxy appointment and file it with the company Secretary before or at the meeting.

To vote, you must be a stockholder of record as of the record date set for the meeting. Meeting notices are delivered to stockholders in person or by mail.