Groundwater Rights: An Overview
In Colorado, a residence not connected to a municipal water supply will most likely need to have a well for household and other water uses. As users of surface water must purchase water rights, those with wells must have groundwater rights, which comes in the form of a permit to remove groundwater.
The question of groundwater rights most frequently comes up when someone is interested in purchasing property with existing groundwater rights or when a property owner needs to purchase groundwater rights or augment existing ones.
Purchasing Property with Existing Groundwater Rights
Before purchasing property, you should find out as much about the existing water resources and groundwater rights as possible. If the property has a residence on it, find out if the residence is served by a central water supply system or if it has its own on-lot well. If there is a well, assuming it’s a legal well, then it will have groundwater rights attached to it in the form of a permit.
Every well constructed after May 8, 1972 for residential use or livestock watering purposes should have a permit file on it. If the current property owner does not have a copy of the permit, you can get one from the Division of Water resources (303-866-3447). The permit will tell you what the groundwater rights are for the property. Be aware that different permits have different water use restrictions. If your permit is for residential in-home uses only, you can’t use your well water to water your lawn or fill your outdoor hot tub. To find out about the well use restrictions for a specific type of permit, contact the Ground Water Information office at 303-866-3587.
If you decide to purchase property with groundwater rights in the form of an existing well, you need to complete a “Change in Ownership/Address” form (GWS-11) and submit it to the Colorado Division of Water Resources. You can get this form from their website at www.water.state.co.us.
Purchasing Groundwater Rights
If you purchase land and decide you want to add a well for a residence, watering livestock, or other reason, or if you have a well on your property and you would like to add another for other water uses, you will need to obtain a permit from the State Engineer’s Office that gives you groundwater rights. For each permit submitted, the staff there determines the amount of groundwater available in each particular area and analyzes what kind of injury a new permit might do to existing groundwater rights holders.
The type of permit you can obtain depends first on whether your property is located within a Designated Groundwater Basin (or Designated Basin). The groundwater within these basins is not adjacent to a continuously flowing natural stream and is in high demand. Therefore, groundwater rights in these areas can be difficult to obtain.
For areas outside Designated Basins, you can obtain a permit that falls under one of two classifications:
Exempt, which means they are exempt from water rights administration and are not administered under Colorado’s water rights priority system. Uses are limited specifically by the conditions as approved by the permit. Usually pumping rates are limited on exempt permits and they are generally not issued where there is a central water system available. Examples of groundwater rights for exempt wells include household-use only wells, domestic and livestock wells, commercial wells for small businesses, previously unregistered existing wells, and replacement wells for improving an existing well.
Non-exempt, which means they are governed by the priority system. This type of groundwater rights typically allows for higher pumping rates and greater annual withdrawals than exempt wells. These wells are frequently used for irrigation, large commercial, municipal, and industrial uses.
In some cases, you may not be able to obtain groundwater rights without an augmentation plan. This plan is approved by the water courts and outlines how you will replace the water used by your well in areas where there are water shortages for some or parts of the year to avoid interfering with senior groundwater rights, or groundwater rights that are already in existence.
When there is a water shortage, those with senior groundwater rights may place a “call” on water usage, which may result in those with junior groundwater rights needing to stop using their water. An augmentation plan would enable you, the junior groundwater rights holder, to continue to use the water for your project. To determine whether you would need an augmentation plan, you should contact your local Division of Water resources office, or the office responsible for administering the water in the area in which your project will be located.
There is more to obtaining groundwater rights than simply drilling a well on your property. To find out more information about groundwater rights and how you can use groundwater, contact Water Colorado.