Seniority, absolute versus conditional water, and decreed uses for all 4,544 water rights on record in Jefferson County, taken from the state's own records. Priority dates run from 1859-11-01 to 2024-11-18.
CFS on record: 19,353.4 absolute · 1,532.2 conditional. Flow (CFS) and volume (AF) are never added together.
Worth knowing: Jefferson County has about 2.0x more acre-feet decreed as conditional than as absolute. Conditional water is decreed on paper but not yet put to beneficial use. A buyer or lender who does not separate the two is valuing a different asset than the one on the ground.
In a dry year the oldest rights are served first. This is how Jefferson County's rights are distributed.
| Era | Rights | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pre-1900 | 1,225 | 27.0% | |
| 1900-1949 | 863 | 19.0% | |
| 1950-1969 | 1,112 | 24.5% | |
| 1970-1999 | 951 | 20.9% | |
| 2000+ | 393 | 8.6% |
| Decreed use | Rights |
|---|---|
| Domestic | 2,691 |
| Irrigation | 2,001 |
| Municipal | 1,196 |
| Augmentation | 1,026 |
| Commercial | 976 |
| Stock | 947 |
Ranked by the state's own priority administration number, the figure DWR uses to order rights by seniority.
| Priority | Structure | Source | Amount | Uses | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860-02-25 | FARMERS HIGHLINE CANAL | CLEAR CREEK | 0.275 CFS | Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Recreation, Fishery, Domestic, Augmentation, Other, Wildlife, All beneficial uses | state record |
| 1860-02-25 | WADSWORTH DITCH | CLEAR CREEK | 2.3142 CFS | Irrigation, Municipal | state record |
| 1860-05-01 | SAWMILL SPRG WELL 161480 | GROUNDWATER: CLEAR CREEK | 0.009 CFS | Fire, Domestic, Stock | state record |
| 1860-05-15 | AGRICULTURAL DITCH | CLEAR CREEK | 1.64 CFS | Storage, Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Recreation, Fishery, Fire, Domestic, Augmentation, Wildlife, All beneficial uses | state record |
| 1860-05-15 | GOLDEN CITY WATER WORKS PIPELINE | CLEAR CREEK | 0.078 CFS | Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Recreation, Fire, Domestic, Other | state record |
| 1860-05-15 | LEES BAUGH DITCH | CLEAR CREEK | 3.282 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1860-05-15 | AGRICULTURAL DITCH | CLEAR CREEK | 1.64 CFS | Storage, Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Recreation, Fishery, Fire, Domestic, Augmentation, Change of use return flow, Wildlife, All beneficial uses | state record |
| 1860-05-16 | FARMERS HIGHLINE CANAL | CLEAR CREEK | 1.0 CFS | Storage, Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Recreation, Fishery, Fire, Domestic, Stock, Augmentation, Change of use return flow, Other, Wildlife, All beneficial uses | state record |
| 1860-05-16 | SOUTH SIDE DITCH | CLEAR CREEK | 1.0 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1860-05-19 | AGRICULTURAL DITCH | CLEAR CREEK | 0.675 CFS | Storage, Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Recreation, Fishery, Fire, Domestic, Augmentation, Wildlife, All beneficial uses | state record |
This page is the summary. The full file for Jefferson County covers every one of the 4,544 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.