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Dolores County files six-year due-diligence application to preserve water rights on Disappointment Creek
Summary
The board unanimously approved a due-diligence application prepared by county counsel and a water attorney to keep conditional water rights active; county staff warned the state could request more information and that other water-rights holders might oppose the filing.
Dolores County approved filing a six-year due-diligence application to preserve conditional water rights associated with Disappointment Creek, county counsel and an outside water attorney told the Board of Commissioners on Sept. 2.
Kim Purdue, identified in the meeting as a water attorney who prepared the application, explained that conditional water rights must be reasserted every six years through a due-diligence filing to prevent loss of those conditional claims. "When you have conditional water rights issued, then every six years you have to put in a due diligence application and then they renew that conditional use," Purdue said as she described the filing requirement and the county's prior actions to protect road-watering and other county uses.
The board moved and voted unanimously to approve the application. Staff cautioned that the Division of Water Resources could seek additional clarification and that holders of other water rights could file objections; if the process were to escalate, the county might need to return to the board for direction. The board directed staff to proceed with filing and to notify the board if substantive complications or legal exposure arose.
