Water Rights
The company's decreed water rights and Colorado's prior appropriation system.
Our Decree
- Water Source
- Clear Creek (via Agricultural Ditch headgate)
- Original Appropriation Date
- May 15, 1860
- Adjudicated Amount
- Contact office for decree details
- Water Division
- Division 1 — Jefferson County, Colorado
- Normal Year Delivery Standard
- 30.00 cfs through end of ditch
- Point of Diversion
- Agricultural Ditch River Headgate, Clear Creek, Lakewood, Jefferson County, CO. The Welch Ditch point of diversion was relocated to this headgate in the 1990s.
Historical Water Rights
The Agricultural Ditch water right was originally appropriated on May 15, 1860, making it one of the most senior water rights on Clear Creek. The Welch Ditch, operated under the company's subsidiary — the Golden Canal & Reservoir Company — was appropriated on May 19, 1860.
In the 1990s, the Upper Welch Ditch was abandoned and its point of diversion was relocated to the Agricultural Ditch River Headgate, combining the two systems into today's unified ditch operation.
Colorado Prior Appropriation
Colorado uses the "prior appropriation" doctrine — "first in time, first in right." Water rights are ranked by their priority date. When stream flows are insufficient to satisfy all rights, junior rights are curtailed before senior rights.
During low-water years or when a "call" is placed on the river by a senior right holder, the company may receive less than its full decreed amount. In such cases, water is delivered to stockholders pro-rata based on shares owned.
Pro-Rata Delivery
Each stockholder receives water proportional to their share ownership. If the company diverts 20 cfs and a stockholder owns 1 of 200 total shares (0.5%), they are entitled to 0.10 cfs gross at the headworks — reduced by ditch transport losses before reaching the headgate.