Seniority, absolute versus conditional water, and decreed uses for all 7,295 water rights on record in Douglas County, taken from the state's own records. Priority dates run from 1860-12-28 to 2024-05-30.
CFS on record: 2,119.1 absolute · 11,212.2 conditional. Flow (CFS) and volume (AF) are never added together.
Worth knowing: 158 rights in Douglas 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 Douglas County's rights are distributed.
| Era | Rights | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pre-1900 | 376 | 5.2% | |
| 1900-1949 | 294 | 4.0% | |
| 1950-1969 | 885 | 12.1% | |
| 1970-1999 | 2,288 | 31.4% | |
| 2000+ | 3,452 | 47.3% |
| Decreed use | Rights |
|---|---|
| Domestic | 5,285 |
| Irrigation | 4,575 |
| Stock | 4,486 |
| Commercial | 4,001 |
| Augmentation | 3,662 |
| Fire | 3,240 |
Ranked by the state's own priority administration number, the figure DWR uses to order rights by seniority.
| Priority | Structure | Source | Amount | Uses | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1861-06-30 | GARBER CREEK DITCH 1 | GARBER CREEK | 2.79 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1862-05-01 | LOYD WELL 3-19492 | GROUNDWATER: SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 1.82 CFS | Storage, Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, All beneficial uses | state record |
| 1862-05-01 | LOYD WELL 3-19492 | GROUNDWATER: SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 24.0 AF | Storage, Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, All beneficial uses | state record |
| 1862-05-01 | LOYD WELL 5-3766F | GROUNDWATER: SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 1.82 CFS | Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Other | state record |
| 1862-05-01 | LOYD WELL 5-3766F | GROUNDWATER: SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 28.425 AF | Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Other | state record |
| 1862-05-01 | DIAMOND OVER D W 1-18954 | GROUNDWATER: SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 57.0 AF | Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Recreation, Fire, Domestic, Other | state record |
| 1862-06-01 | SPRING CREEK DITCH | SPRING CREEK | 1.83 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1863-08-30 | GARBER CREEK DITCH 2 | GARBER CREEK | 1.06 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1863-12-30 | AURORA INTAKE | SOUTH PLATTE RIVER | 1.33 CFS | Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Recreation, Fishery, Fire, Domestic, Augmentation, Wildlife | state record |
| 1863-12-31 | FIFTY NINE DITCH 2 | PLUM CREEK | 4.5 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
This page is the summary. The full file for Douglas County covers every one of the 7,295 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.