Seniority, absolute versus conditional water, and decreed uses for all 1,304 water rights on record in Las Animas County, taken from the state's own records. Priority dates run from 1861-05-31 to 2021-12-31.
CFS on record: 2,315.2 absolute · 315.3 conditional. Flow (CFS) and volume (AF) are never added together.
Worth knowing: 57 rights in Las Animas 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 Las Animas County's rights are distributed.
| Era | Rights | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pre-1900 | 296 | 22.7% | |
| 1900-1949 | 417 | 32.0% | |
| 1950-1969 | 382 | 29.3% | |
| 1970-1999 | 152 | 11.7% | |
| 2000+ | 57 | 4.4% |
| Decreed use | Rights |
|---|---|
| Stock | 775 |
| Irrigation | 453 |
| Domestic | 384 |
| Fire | 155 |
| Municipal | 147 |
| Industrial | 140 |
Ranked by the state's own priority administration number, the figure DWR uses to order rights by seniority.
| Priority | Structure | Source | Amount | Uses | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1861-05-31 | NORTH LAKE INLET | NORTH FORK PURGATOIRE RIVER | 1.59 CFS | Municipal, Domestic | state record |
| 1861-05-31 | BACA IRRIGATING DITCH | PURGATOIRE RIVER | 0.01 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1861-11-01 | MAXWELL DITCH NO 9 | MIDDLE FORK PURGATOIRE RIVER | 0.75 CFS | Irrigation, Industrial, Other | state record |
| 1861-11-01 | ANTONIO LOPEZ DITCH | PURGATOIRE RIVER | 8.0 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1861-11-30 | NORTH LAKE INLET | NORTH FORK PURGATOIRE RIVER | 2.0 CFS | Municipal, Domestic | state record |
| 1861-11-30 | BACA IRRIGATING DITCH | PURGATOIRE RIVER | 6.0 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1862-01-01 | NORTH LAKE INLET | NORTH FORK PURGATOIRE RIVER | 2.35 CFS | Municipal, Domestic | state record |
| 1862-03-20 | MODEL DITCH | PURGATOIRE RIVER | 4.0 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1862-04-01 | NORTH LAKE INLET | NORTH FORK PURGATOIRE RIVER | 1.78 CFS | Municipal, Domestic | state record |
| 1862-04-01 | CIMARRON RANCH AUG PLAN | UNDEFINED | 0.2 CFS | Domestic, Household use only | state record |
This page is the summary. The full file for Las Animas County covers every one of the 1,304 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.