Seniority, absolute versus conditional water, and decreed uses for all 4,046 water rights on record in Rio Grande County, taken from the state's own records. Priority dates run from 1850-12-31 to 2009-12-31.
CFS on record: 12,835.5 absolute · 7,175.7 conditional. Flow (CFS) and volume (AF) are never added together.
Worth knowing: 19 rights in Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande County's rights are distributed.
| Era | Rights | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pre-1900 | 631 | 15.6% | |
| 1900-1949 | 1,778 | 43.9% | |
| 1950-1969 | 1,409 | 34.8% | |
| 1970-1999 | 224 | 5.5% | |
| 2000+ | 4 | 0.1% |
| Decreed use | Rights |
|---|---|
| Irrigation | 2,645 |
| Domestic | 1,182 |
| Stock | 994 |
| Commercial | 235 |
| Wildlife | 188 |
| Recharge | 88 |
Ranked by the state's own priority administration number, the figure DWR uses to order rights by seniority.
| Priority | Structure | Source | Amount | Uses | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1866-03-12 | SILVA D | RIO GRANDE | 2.9775 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1866-03-12 | MELLOTT AUG PLAN | UNDEFINED | 0.0225 CFS | Augmentation | state record |
| 1866-04-15 | ATENCIO D | RIO GRANDE | 0.74 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1866-04-30 | SAN JOSE OR LUCERO D | RIO GRANDE | 0.9 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1867-03-10 | MONTOYA 1 2 5 D | PINOS CREEK | 0.67 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1867-03-10 | ROBRAN D | PINOS CREEK | 0.6 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1867-03-10 | MONTOYA-MEXICAN D | PINOS CREEK | 2.53 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1870-01-31 | W2625 WELL NO 01 | GROUNDWATER: RIO GRANDE | 0.045 CFS | Domestic, Stock | state record |
| 1870-04-30 | MONTOYA D 3 | PINOS CREEK | 0.9 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1870-04-30 | MONTOYA D 4 | PINOS CREEK | 1.0 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
This page is the summary. The full file for Rio Grande County covers every one of the 4,046 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.
Browse all Colorado counties →
Records last updated 10 September 2026.