INTRODUCTION

Professionals at Martin and Wood believe that the primary purpose of their expert testimony is to educate the trier of fact, whether the trier of fact is the Water Court judge or referee, a jury of peers, a county planning commission or board of county commissioners, or an arbitrator or mediator. While we shall defend with pride our authorships of analyses, conclusions, and reports, we strive to become educators and not advocates at law.

While we have testified most often in the Water Courts of Colorado, we also testify fairly often before county planning commissions and boards of county commissioners. We have also testified in county courts, before state legislators, in the United States Court of Claims, and in the Federal District Court for Colorado.

Most of our expert testimony to date has dealt with water rights for our clients' applications to the Water Court for new water rights, for changes of water rights, and for plans for augmentation. We also provide expert testimony in defense of our clients' water rights in Water Court applications by others. In addition to Water Court issues, we provide expert testimony concerning such matters as the quality of a raw water supply to be used for domestic purposes, the adequacy of a given water supply to meet a user's needs, and drainage problems on residential and commercial properties.