Seniority, absolute versus conditional water, and decreed uses for all 393 water rights on record in Denver County, taken from the state's own records. Priority dates run from 1859-03-01 to 2022-04-28.
CFS on record: 5,645.4 absolute · 2,620.9 conditional. Flow (CFS) and volume (AF) are never added together.
Worth knowing: 16 rights in Denver County carry a conditional portion, water that is decreed but not yet perfected. Absolute and conditional are not the same asset.
In a dry year the oldest rights are served first. This is how Denver County's rights are distributed.
| Era | Rights | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pre-1900 | 42 | 10.7% | |
| 1900-1949 | 60 | 15.3% | |
| 1950-1969 | 78 | 19.8% | |
| 1970-1999 | 147 | 37.4% | |
| 2000+ | 66 | 16.8% |
| Decreed use | Rights |
|---|---|
| Irrigation | 210 |
| Domestic | 168 |
| Municipal | 157 |
| Commercial | 125 |
| Industrial | 113 |
| Recreation | 101 |
Ranked by the state's own priority administration number, the figure DWR uses to order rights by seniority.
| Priority | Structure | Source | Amount | Uses | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1859-11-01 | MCBROOM DITCH | BEAR CREEK | 3.415 CFS | Irrigation, Municipal, All beneficial uses | state record |
| 1860-05-01 | EPPERSON DITCH/PUMP | SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 0.34 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1862-06-02 | BURLINGTON D RIVER HEADGATE | SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 3.0 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1863-03-15 | FARMERS GARDNERS DITCH | SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 2.65 CFS | Irrigation, Municipal, Augmentation | state record |
| 1863-03-15 | FARMERS GARDNERS DITCH | SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 698.85 AF | Irrigation, Municipal, Augmentation | state record |
| 1864-04-01 | BURLINGTON D RIVER HEADGATE | SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 27.4 CFS | Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Recreation, Fishery, Fire, Domestic, Augmentation, Change of use return flow, Wildlife | state record |
| 1871-09-30 | 4 MILE PARK WELL | GROUNDWATER: SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 0.394 AF | Irrigation | state record |
| 1872-04-30 | SUCCESS DITCH | CHERRY CREEK | 23.62 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1872-04-30 | 4 MILE PARK WELL | GROUNDWATER: SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 9.38 AF | Irrigation | state record |
| 1880-04-01 | J B GRANT RES B | BEAR CREEK | 150.0 AF | Irrigation | state record |
This page is the summary. The full file for Denver County covers every one of the 393 rights, with its priority date, seniority number, absolute and conditional amounts, decreed uses and a link to each official record, as a spreadsheet.
Buying, lending on, or listing irrigated ground here? Ask for the county file, or for a single property's water summary. The first one is on me.
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Records last updated 10 September 2026.