Protection of Water Rights (Objections)
Objections to applications for new water rights and changes of water rights allows the opportunity to protect existing water rights. Martin and Wood currently works to protect the water portfolios of cities and irrigation districts through our on-going projects.
Protection of Englewood’s Water Rights
In Division 1 Water Court Case No. 02CW403, an irrigation company and four other applicants sought, among other things, a change of water rights appurtenant to certain ditch shares. The application proceeded to trial in the spring of the 2008.
At the trial Martin and Wood, representing the City of Englewood, focused its expert testimony on the use and quantification of the water rights to be changed. Based on intense research and mapping, Martin and Wood’s testimony persuaded the Court that the historical use of an 1885 direct flow water right for 350 cfs should be limited to 200 cfs. The expert witness testimony also led to no credit for the historical use of seepage inflow into the delivery canals and from the dam’s toe drain. Ultimately, the expert testimony by both Martin and Wood and other objectors, and the Water Court’s decree (as affirmed by the Colorado Supreme Court in 2010), resulted in the quantification of the changed shares at approximately 60 percent of what was originally determined by the Applicants. This prevented expansion of the legal historical use of the changed shares and protected Englewood’s interests on the South Platte River.
