Seniority, absolute versus conditional water, and decreed uses for all 4,914 water rights on record in Saguache County, taken from the state's own records. Priority dates run from 1859-12-31 to 2019-01-29.
CFS on record: 10,374.6 absolute · 87.6 conditional. Flow (CFS) and volume (AF) are never added together.
Worth knowing: 29 rights in Saguache 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 Saguache County's rights are distributed.
| Era | Rights | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pre-1900 | 949 | 19.3% | |
| 1900-1949 | 1,911 | 38.9% | |
| 1950-1969 | 1,400 | 28.5% | |
| 1970-1999 | 587 | 11.9% | |
| 2000+ | 67 | 1.4% |
| Decreed use | Rights |
|---|---|
| Irrigation | 3,000 |
| Stock | 1,773 |
| Domestic | 1,257 |
| Wildlife | 231 |
| Minimum streamflow | 213 |
| Fire | 168 |
Ranked by the state's own priority administration number, the figure DWR uses to order rights by seniority.
| Priority | Structure | Source | Amount | Uses | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1859-12-31 | W1761 WELL NO 01 | GROUNDWATER: LA GARITA CREEK | 0.011 CFS | Domestic, Stock | state record |
| 1859-12-31 | W1761 WELL NO 02 | GROUNDWATER: LA GARITA CREEK | 0.033 CFS | Domestic, Stock | state record |
| 1866-04-01 | WELLS KERBER D | KERBER CREEK | 2.8 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1866-04-01 | WELLS MIDDLE D | KERBER CREEK | 0.6 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1866-04-01 | WELLS NORTH D | KERBER CREEK | 0.4 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1866-04-01 | CHASE PEYTON D | SAGUACHE CREEK | 0.8 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1866-04-01 | MALONE SULLIVAN D 1 | SAGUACHE CREEK | 4.4 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1866-04-15 | CATO D | NORTH FORK SAGUACHE CREEK | 1.0 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1866-04-15 | FORD D 1 AND 2 | NORTH FORK SAGUACHE CREEK | 1.0 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
| 1866-04-30 | HAWKINS D | SAGUACHE CREEK | 1.0 CFS | Irrigation | state record |
This page is the summary. The full file for Saguache County covers every one of the 4,914 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.