Lower Yampa River on the ground — the ditches, wells, reservoirs and gages of Water District 44 · clicktap anything for its record
Runoff outlook — Elkhead Ck ab Long Gulch: even odds of at least 1 kAF over 06-01 to 07-31 — 15% of a normal season, per NRCS, issued 2026-06-01 — the season’s final; new forecasts begin in January. Runoff outlook — Yampa R nr Maybell: even odds of at least 73 kAF over 06-01 to 07-31 — 21% of a normal season, per NRCS, issued 2026-06-01 — the season’s final; new forecasts begin in January. Full snow & runoff picture — charts, forecast history and how the forecasts have verified →
Sites, exceedance bands and sources
Elkhead Ck ab Long Gulch — 06-01 to 07-31 volume, thousand acre-feet (chance the volume is AT LEAST this):
| 90% | 70% | 50% | 30% | 10% | Normal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
Yampa R nr Maybell — 06-01 to 07-31 volume, thousand acre-feet (chance the volume is AT LEAST this):
| 90% | 70% | 50% | 30% | 10% | Normal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 52 | 73 | 105 | 140 | 340 |
Snow-water equivalent and medians (1991–2020) from NRCS SNOTEL; seasonal volume forecasts from the NRCS National Water and Climate Center. Sites and forecast points are assigned to the district whose boundary contains them — snowpack that feeds this district can also sit in a neighboring headwater district. Toggle the Snow chip on the map above to see the sites.
Topology cross-check: 8 parent disagreements, 15 sizable streams not on this network (vs DWR's route framework — under review)
This flow network was built mechanically; DWR's Source Water Route Framework disagrees with it in the places below. Each row is a question a human reviewer has not yet answered — not an error verdict. Checked 23 streams, 15 agree. Know this water? Tell us →
| Stream | This site routes it to | DWR routes it to |
|---|---|---|
| Dry Fork Little Bear Creek | the mainstem | Little Bear Creek |
| Blue Gravel Creek | the mainstem | Fortification Creek |
| Big Gulch | the mainstem | Lay Creek |
| Corral Gulch | the mainstem | Elkhead Creek |
| Rock Spring Gulch | the mainstem | Elkhead Creek |
| Good Spring Creek | the mainstem | Milk Creek |
| Sand Creek | the mainstem | East Fork Williams Fork |
| Morapos Creek | the mainstem | Williams Fork |
Sizable streams DWR maps here that this network does not carry:
Williams Fork (28 mi) · Morgan Creek (18 mi) · Maudlin Gulch (17 mi) · Temple Gulch (16 mi) · Sand Spring Gulch (13 mi) · Cedar Springs Draw (12 mi) · Jesse Gulch (11 mi) · Pine Ridge Gulch (7 mi)
Full diagnostic snapshot pending — this district's weekly-style report (system status, active calls, hydrographs, anomaly flags) is produced by the nightly rotation and appears here after its first run. The tabs above are live now.
Schematic
Historical
Evolution of the network
Trends
This year, in context
In the weeks around 2026-07-06 (the newest reading on file), flows at the 5 ranked gages are running at a median 10% of their own long-term norm for this window — 5 below a typical year, 0 at or above. Driest relative to its record: WILLIAMS FORK AT MOUTH NEAR HAMILTON, ranking 1st lowest of 22 years.
How this comparison is made
Each gage's mean flow over the 3 days either side of 2026-07-06, compared with the same window in every year of its own record — so a gage is only ever measured against itself, and gages with no record in the window are counted out rather than guessed.
Gage flow trend & changepoints
What counts as a trend here
Computed 2026-08-30 21:02 from 31 gage(s) with cached period-of-record data. The series is each gage's annual mean flow in cfs (years with ≥300 days of record). Mann-Kendall (trend, with the Hamed–Rao correction for serial correlation — persistence can otherwise fake significance) and Pettitt (changepoint) both require at least 8 years spanning at least 10 years of record. A gage below that reports no signal — which is not the same as “no change.” The %-per-decade figure is the same Sen slope divided by the gage's median annual flow, for comparing across streams of very different size; it is omitted for near-ephemeral channels where the median is too small to divide by honestly.
Of the 31 gages with enough record, 0 are trending down and 3 up. The clearest is Milk Creek near Thornburgh, its annual mean flow changing +9.05 cfs per decade (+33.2% of its median annual flow) over 33 years (p=0.0025). The other 28 show no clear signal either way.
What drought has cost here
Since 1991, federal crop insurance has paid $500,121 in drought-caused claims across Moffat, Rio Blanco, Routt counties — 1.2% of all insured crop losses there. The worst year was 2013 ($227,009).
USDA crop-insurance indemnities where the recorded cause of loss is drought, summed over the counties this district's gages sit in. Counties overlap water districts imperfectly, and insured-crop claims are a floor on drought damage, not a total. Source: USDA RMA cause-of-loss files.
| Gage | Trend | Change / decade cfs · % of median annual flow | Significance | Years | Changepoint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
▸
Milk Creek near Thornburgh MILTHOCO |
↑ increasing | +9.05 cfs +33.2% | p=0.003 | 33 | — |
|
▸
Elkhead Creek near Clark ELKHEACO |
↑ increasing | +17.33 cfs +54.6% | p=0.029 | 14 | — |
|
▸
North Fork Elkhead Creek near Elkhead NOFELKCO |
↑ increasing | +6.44 cfs +38.6% | p=0.049 | 14 | — |
28 other gage(s) show no significant trend or changepoint (not shown).
How the measurement network itself changed
This basin was not always measured the way it is today — the API-era record is dense and recent, the early record sparse. 6 gage(s) and 354 structure(s) report in 2026, but structure reporting only reached half its modern level around ~1979. Every historical claim below is checked against this: long-term shifts that co-move with the growth of the network carry an explicit measurement-evolution caution, and abandonment screens whose idleness begins before the modern reporting era are flagged †.
| Decade | Gages with data (median yr) | Structures reporting (median yr) |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 2 | 0 |
| 1910s | 4 | 0 |
| 1920s | 2 | 0 |
| 1930s | 1 | 76 |
| 1940s | 2 | 37 |
| 1950s | 4 | 97 |
| 1960s | 8 | 124 |
| 1970s | 8 | 186 |
| 1980s | 7 | 220 |
| 1990s | 6 | 240 |
| 2000s | 5 | 266 |
| 2010s | 5 | 302 |
| 2020s | 6 | 314 |
Mass-balance (network closure) trend
Structure divrec-history backfill coverage as of the last check: 5% of 2864 schematic-relevant structures. 0 year(s) clear the 30% coverage gate so far -- the trend activates automatically once qualifying years span a full decade. No action needed; the nightly backfill keeps extending the record.
Reach gain/loss shifts (1953–2026)
Mass-balance kinks computed for every summer month back to 1953 (733 reach-snapshots) — which reaches gain or lose water, and how that has shifted across decades. Each shift is cross-checked against the observation record above: as more diversions became metered, "unaccounted" water shrinks mechanically, which can masquerade as a hydrologic shift.
No reach shows a statistically significant long-term gain/loss shift.
Groundwater now has its own tab: 134 monitored well(s), water-table trends, stream corridors, and the advisory depletion screen.
Reservoirs now has its own tab: 78 reservoir(s), end-of-year storage back to 1900, click-to-chart histories.
Cross-gage pattern fingerprint
Not enough gages with a long enough common-coverage window yet to fingerprint shared patterns.
Structures most implicated by reconciliation (as of 2026-07-06)
Which structures' data absorbed the most correction when the current mass-balance snapshot was reconciled -- see the Historical tab for the full picture on any date.
- DEEP GULCH RES NO 2 (diversion): -13.4 cfs (6% of that reach's correction)
- BOGENSCHUTZ DITCH (diversion): -13.4 cfs (6% of that reach's correction)
- WHEELER #3 (return): -13.4 cfs (6% of that reach's correction)
- LOUDY RESERVOIR (diversion): -13.4 cfs (6% of that reach's correction)
- AIRLINE PUMPSITE #1 (diversion): -13.4 cfs (6% of that reach's correction)
- WHEAT SEEP (return): -13.4 cfs (6% of that reach's correction)
- RED ANGUS SPRING (return): -13.4 cfs (6% of that reach's correction)
- SILVER SPG NO 4 (return): -13.4 cfs (6% of that reach's correction)
- AIR LINE IRR D (diversion): -13.4 cfs (6% of that reach's correction)
- AIRLINE PUMPSITE AP #2 (diversion): -13.4 cfs (6% of that reach's correction)
Data provenance & quality
Where these numbers come from and how far they can be trusted. Grade C (3/6 points) — the components below are the finding; the letter alone is not. Sources: DWR HydroBase snapshot HydroBase_CO_20260707 (imported 2026-08-19) for history, plus the CDSS REST API for current conditions.
| Check | State | What was measured |
|---|---|---|
| gage freshness | stale | newest gage reading is 55 day(s) old (target 7) |
| diversion record | expected-lag | newest diversion record is 325 day(s) old (DWR publishes ~1 year in arrears) |
| structure coverage | sparse | 5% of schematic structures have data |
Independent check: PASS — 100.0000% agreement across 122,540 stored values re-checked against DWR's authoritative record (HydroBase_CO_20260707), over 20 structures. 0 disagreement(s) beyond a 0.01 cfs tolerance. Checked 2026-08-19; a rotating sample covers the whole basin across successive runs, and the structures this report cites are checked every time.
31 gage(s) / 194,985 daily values (1904-01-01–2026-07-06); 624 structure(s) with diversion records; 3562 with decreed rights. Methodology has not yet had independent expert review — treat every figure as an advisory screen, not an administrative or legal conclusion.
Groundwater
711 water-level measurements across 134 monitored well(s) — 60 alluvial, 1 bedrock — plus 6 administered well(s) reporting metered pumping.
What is being counted
Observation wells and pumping wells are different populations and are never conflated: water levels come from monitored observation wells, and metered pumping comes from administered wells reporting through diversion records. Click any well to chart its own record.
Well map
3D aquifer x-ray
Every aquifer unit as its own head surface, animated through time.
How the surfaces are built, and what they are not
Alluvial water table on top, Denver Basin members (Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, Laramie–Fox Hills) stacked beneath where measured, interpolated from measured water levels. Units are never mixed; a surface exists only inside its own unit's well coverage, with no extrapolation; thin epochs are suppressed and say why. Vertical scale is exaggerated for readability and z is head elevation in feet. These are measured heads, not a calibrated groundwater model.
Water-table trends
Of 1 well(s) with enough record for a trend test: 0 declining, 0 rising.
Wells labeled by administrative world before anything else is said about them: tributary alluvium participates in the priority system; designated-basin and Denver Basin bedrock aquifers are governed differently and are excluded from stream-connection reasoning. Read bedrock declines differently too: deep bedrock aquifers recharge negligibly on human timescales, so a falling bedrock level is storage mining — effectively permanent — not a drought response that a wet year undoes. All screens advisory.
Reservoirs
78 reservoir(s) with 4,817 storage measurement(s), 1900–2026. Basin storage as of 2025-10-31 (the record's own end — reservoir records publish ~annually): 17,374 AF across 34 reservoir(s).
Why storage matters to the flow network
Storage change is real water the mass balance must credit — a losing reach beside a filling reservoir isn't losing water, it's banking it.
Reservoir map — how full is each vessel?
What “full” is measured against
Bubble size is proportional to a reservoir's record-high storage. Fill is its last recorded storage as a share of its surveyed capacity (USACE National Inventory of Dams) where a confident NID match exists — the tooltip names the matched dam — and as a share of its own record high otherwise. A wrong capacity would be worse than an honest record high, so only confident joins upgrade.
A dashed teal ring marks reservoirs reporting live DWR telemetry: their fill reflects yesterday's storage, is drawn as a dotted tail on charts, and is treated as provisional until the next verified HydroBase snapshot supersedes it.
A dashed red ring marks a dam under an active storage restriction from DWR's Dam Safety branch — the State Engineer has limited how much it may legally store, so a low fill can be an order, not a drought. Hazard class and inspection condition come from the same record, joined only where the dam carries this reservoir's WDID or a confident NID match — a wrong dam's restriction would be worse than none shown.
Basin storage, end of each water year
End-of-water-year totals; per-year reservoir counts shown because reporting coverage varies -- a total is only comparable to years with similar counts.
Largest reservoirs on record
Click a row to chart its full storage history, or open its dossier for rights, documents and dam-safety facts.
| Reservoir | Last recorded storage (AF) | As of | Full | Dam (DWR Dam Safety) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▸ ELKHEAD CREEK RESERVOIR (4403902) | 16,421 | 2025-10-31 | — | — | dossier → |
| ▸ ROBB PIT (4404436) | 807 | 2004-09-03 | — | — | dossier → |
| ▸ FREDRICKSON RES NO 2 (4403732) | 720 | 1982-05-12 | — | — | dossier → |
| ▸ RAW WATER RESERVOIR (4403912) | 553 | 2006-05-15 | — | — | dossier → |
| ▸ RALPH WHITE RES (4403724) | 308 | 1984-10-17 | — | — | dossier → |
| ▸ POOSE CK RES (4403701) | 291 | 2025-10-31 | — | — | dossier → |
| ▸ FLAT TOP RES (4403925) | 100 | 2025-10-31 | — | — | dossier → |
| ▸ WILSON RESERVOIR (4403674) | 85 | 2025-10-31 | — | — | dossier → |
Snow and runoff
Snow-water equivalent, WY2026
| SNOTEL site | Elev (ft) | SWE (in) | Median (in) | % of median | Typical peak |
|---|
NRCS SNOTEL, daily. Sites are assigned to the district whose boundary contains them — the snow that feeds this district can also sit in a neighboring headwater district.
Runoff outlook — Elkhead Ck ab Long Gulch
NRCS's final issue (2026-06-01) calls it even odds that at least 1 kAF arrives over 06-01 to 07-31 — 15% of a normal season; almost certainly at least 0, probably not more than 4. Our own record at this gage shows 1 kAF actually delivered (partial record: 36 of 61 days). New forecasts begin in January. How to read these numbers →
| 90% chance of at least | 70% chance of at least | 50% chance of at least | 30% chance of at least | 10% chance of at least | Normal | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
How good are these forecasts here? (2011–2025)
Grading every April issue against what the river then delivered, measured at this gage’s own record — 15 seasons: the median miss of the 50% forecast is 27%, with a high bias of 3%, and the observed volume landed inside the stated 10–90% band 80% of the time (a calibrated forecast would say 80%).
Computed by this site: NRCS's archived April issues (their period as issued each year) against the observed volume in DWR’s published record; years with under 90% daily coverage are dropped, not summed. A grade of the forecast, never of the forecasters — these are hard rivers. How this point ranks among every graded Colorado forecast point →
Runoff outlook — Yampa R nr Maybell
NRCS's final issue (2026-06-01) calls it even odds that at least 73 kAF arrives over 06-01 to 07-31 — 21% of a normal season; almost certainly at least 32, probably not more than 140. Our own record at this gage shows 67 kAF actually delivered (partial record: 36 of 61 days). New forecasts begin in January. How to read these numbers →
| 90% chance of at least | 70% chance of at least | 50% chance of at least | 30% chance of at least | 10% chance of at least | Normal | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 52 | 73 | 105 | 140 | 340 | 67 |
How good are these forecasts here? (1965–2025)
Grading every April issue against what the river then delivered, measured at this gage’s own record — 60 seasons: the median miss of the 50% forecast is 17%, with a low bias of 2%, and the observed volume landed inside the stated 10–90% band 75% of the time (a calibrated forecast would say 80%).
Computed by this site: NRCS's archived April issues (their period as issued each year) against the observed volume in DWR’s published record; years with under 90% daily coverage are dropped, not summed. A grade of the forecast, never of the forecasters — these are hard rivers. How this point ranks among every graded Colorado forecast point →
Legal
Decreed rights on this network run from 1879-05-01 to 2022-06-01. Of the 20 structures with a yield estimate, the median one’s senior right was in priority 15% of a median irrigation season and 2% in a dry one. 25 abandonment screens and 267 compliance flags are listed below as leads for review — a screen is not an abandonment and a flag is not a violation.
Rights on file: 3979 across 3562 structure(s); 203 structure(s) carry 0 court-case references. Advisory reading aids on public DWR data — not administrative or legal conclusions.
Is the river getting harder to divert from?
Over 2003–2025, administration on this district has been tightening: 1 of 3 measures (days under call, calls set, seniority of the controlling call) are moving toward more administration, none the other way.
The three measures, year by year
One row per whole calendar year inside the call record's coverage (23 years); partly-covered years are omitted rather than reported as quiet. Trend is Mann-Kendall with the same significance gate as every other trend on this site. Counted from DWR's published call record, which begins in the early 2000s: earlier years are absent, not quiet. A rise in the number of calls set can also reflect how finely an administrator records one episode, which is why days under call -- insensitive to that -- is the component to read first. Advisory summary of the public record, not an administrative finding.
| Year | Days under call | Calls set | Controlling priority (median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 204 | 38 | 1882-04-01 |
| 2015 | 215 | 27 | 1882-04-01 |
| 2016 | 198 | 56 | 1882-04-01 |
| 2017 | 185 | 73 | 1883-06-30 |
| 2018 | 197 | 95 | 1882-04-01 |
| 2019 | 177 | 30 | 1882-04-01 |
| 2020 | 204 | 109 | 1882-04-01 |
| 2021 | 250 | 158 | 1882-04-01 |
| 2022 | 249 | 87 | 1882-04-01 |
| 2023 | 365 | 50 | 1904-01-02 |
| 2024 | 306 | 75 | 1882-04-01 |
| 2025 | 186 | 97 | 1882-04-01 |
Why diversions stopped — call-based explanations
Sustained diversion stops matched to senior administrative calls.
- YELLOW JACKET DITCH NO 2 (4400519) DWR↗ stopped 2025-09-23 (38+ days) — call at KIWA DITCH curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
- A Q DITCH 2 (4400525) DWR↗ stopped 2025-09-16 (45+ days) — call at BIRD DITCH curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
- LILY PARK DITCH NO 1 (4400500) DWR↗ stopped 2025-08-11 (15+ days) — call at J P MORIN DITCH curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
- BEHRMAN DITCH 1 (4400529) DWR↗ stopped 2025-07-25 (74+ days) — call at SQUARE S CONS D ALT PT curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
- WISCONSIN DITCH (4400511) DWR↗ stopped 2025-07-17 (106+ days) — call at METZ & REIGAN DITCH curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
- A Q DITCH 2 (4400525) DWR↗ stopped 2025-07-13 (21+ days) — call at METZ & REIGAN DITCH curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
- B DAYTON DITCH (4400539) DWR↗ stopped 2025-07-05 (30+ days) — call at METZ & REIGAN DITCH curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
- 8 F DITCH NO 1 (4400521) DWR↗ stopped 2025-07-04 (36+ days) — call at HOME DITCH NO 2 curtailing 67% of its decreed rate [heuristic-partial]
- WOLFE DITCH (4400513) DWR↗ stopped 2025-06-11 (69+ days) — call at METZ & REIGAN DITCH curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
- BAKER COTTONWOOD D (4400542) DWR↗ stopped 2025-06-06 (7+ days) — call at METZ & REIGAN DITCH curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
- ALEX HERON NO 1 DITCH (4400531) DWR↗ stopped 2025-06-04 (6+ days) — call at METZ & REIGAN DITCH curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
- A Q DITCH 1 (4400524) DWR↗ stopped 2025-05-14 (49+ days) — call at METZ & REIGAN DITCH curtailing 100% of its decreed rate [heuristic-strong]
Right yield — how often could these rights actually divert?
Share of irrigation-season days each structure's rights were not called out, derived from the 22-year district-scoped call record (senior right = floor, junior right = ceiling constraint). Call-record-derived; DWR's own analysis governs where available.
| Structure | Senior priority | Senior right: median / dry yr | Junior right: median / dry yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAYBELL CANAL (4400694) DWR↗ | 1899-10-02 | 15.2% / 2.3% | 7.5% / 0.0% |
| DEEP CUT IRRIGATING DITCH (4400589) DWR↗ | 1884-05-13 | 24.1% / 7.5% | 7.5% / 0.0% |
| JUNIPER MOUNTAIN TUNNEL AND IRRIGATION D (4400675) DWR↗ | 1890-04-02 | 15.4% / 2.3% | 7.5% / 0.0% |
| MARTIN CK DITCH (4400692) DWR↗ | 1900-05-30 | 15.4% / 2.3% | 10.0% / 0.0% |
| D D & E DITCH (4400586) DWR↗ | 1888-03-01 | 17.6% / 5.6% | 7.5% / 0.0% |
| CRAIG STATION DITCH AND PIPELINE NO1 (4400522) DWR↗ | 1895-06-25 | 15.4% / 2.3% | 7.5% / 0.0% |
| LILY PARK DITCH NO 1 (4400500) DWR↗ | 1886-04-10 | 21.9% / 5.6% | 21.9% / 5.6% |
| WISCONSIN DITCH (4400511) DWR↗ | 1888-05-19 | 17.6% / 5.6% | 7.5% / 0.0% |
| WILLIAMS FORK RIVER MSF (4401448) DWR↗ | 1992-09-16 | 7.5% / 0.0% | 7.5% / 0.0% |
| NORVELL DITCH (4400724) DWR↗ | 1885-05-14 | 21.9% / 5.6% | 10.0% / 0.0% |
| SYNTHETIC PRODUCTS DITCH (4400779) DWR↗ | 1895-06-25 | 15.4% / 2.3% | 7.5% / 0.0% |
| MCKINLAY DITCH NO 2 (4400700) DWR↗ | 1890-05-01 | 16.4% / 4.7% | 7.5% / 0.0% |
Abandonment radar (25 screens)
Absolute rights with 10+ years of no recorded diversions. Screens only — storage, alternate points, and plan operations can explain nonuse lawfully. And diversion REPORTING itself only reached its modern level ~1979 — idleness that begins before then may be unreported use, not nonuse (flagged † below).
- PERRY LUCAS DITCH (4400732) DWR↗ (1903-06-03, 2.3 cfs decreed): last active 1938 — 87 years idle † predates modern reporting era — last recorded activity predates this basin's modern reporting era (~1979) -- early absence of record is weak evidence of nonuse
- DIAMOND DITCH (4400595) DWR↗ (1903-11-15, 0.5 cfs decreed): last active 1940 — 85 years idle † predates modern reporting era — last recorded activity predates this basin's modern reporting era (~1979) -- early absence of record is weak evidence of nonuse
- WILLOW CK DITCH (4400508) DWR↗ (1898-05-06, 0.3 cfs decreed): last active 1964 — 61 years idle † predates modern reporting era — last recorded activity predates this basin's modern reporting era (~1979) -- early absence of record is weak evidence of nonuse
- GOOD SPRING DITCH NO 1 (4400631) DWR↗ (1885-05-20, 0.5 cfs decreed): last active 1966 — 59 years idle † predates modern reporting era — last recorded activity predates this basin's modern reporting era (~1979) -- early absence of record is weak evidence of nonuse
- GOOD SPRINGS DITCH NO 2 (4400632) DWR↗ (1885-05-20, 1.0 cfs decreed): last active 1966 — 59 years idle † predates modern reporting era — last recorded activity predates this basin's modern reporting era (~1979) -- early absence of record is weak evidence of nonuse
- CRAIG IRR DITCH (4400580) DWR↗ (1890-03-31, 11.1 cfs decreed): last active 1978 — 47 years idle † predates modern reporting era — last recorded activity predates this basin's modern reporting era (~1979) -- early absence of record is weak evidence of nonuse
- FLOYD BUTTS WELL (4405002) DWR↗ (1954-09-27, 0.2 cfs decreed): last active 1980 — 45 years idle
- MILLER WELL (4405004) DWR↗ (1940-07-31, 0.1 cfs decreed): last active 1980 — 45 years idle
- SJOSTROM SPG NO 1 (4400881) DWR↗ (1977-08-01, 0.1 cfs decreed): last active 1981 — 44 years idle
- OSBORN BARN PUMP (4401055) DWR↗ (1944-06-07, 0.0 cfs decreed): last active 1981 — 44 years idle
Compliance screens (267 advisory flags)
Screened 403 of 3562 structures with rights (498 have diversion history on file). A flag is a lead for expert review — augmentation plans, exchanges, and free-river conditions can make over-decree diversions lawful and are deliberately not modeled.
- D D & E DITCH (4400586) DWR↗: Observed p99 daily rate 60.1 cfs (max 64.4) exceeds total decreed absolute 49.3 cfs across 12394 recorded day(s).
- MILK CREEK DITCH (4400706) DWR↗: Observed p99 daily rate 40.0 cfs (max 45.0) exceeds total decreed absolute 20.0 cfs across 12166 recorded day(s).
- WISCONSIN DITCH (4400511) DWR↗: Observed p99 daily rate 32.8 cfs (max 35.5) exceeds total decreed absolute 32.0 cfs across 15023 recorded day(s).
- SMITH DITCH (4400763) DWR↗: Observed p99 daily rate 30.1 cfs (max 30.1) exceeds total decreed absolute 21.0 cfs across 10590 recorded day(s).
- CRAIG IRR DITCH (4400580) DWR↗: Observed p99 daily rate 30.0 cfs (max 30.0) exceeds total decreed absolute 11.1 cfs across 5156 recorded day(s).
- MCKINLAY DITCH NO 1 (4400699) DWR↗: Observed p99 daily rate 30.0 cfs (max 30.0) exceeds total decreed absolute 8.3 cfs across 8842 recorded day(s).
- MCKINLAY DITCH NO 2 (4400700) DWR↗: Observed p99 daily rate 30.0 cfs (max 46.4) exceeds total decreed absolute 25.7 cfs across 10130 recorded day(s).
- DEER CK & MORAPOS D (4400590) DWR↗: Observed p99 daily rate 28.3 cfs (max 34.2) exceeds total decreed absolute 19.5 cfs across 16043 recorded day(s).
- EGRY MESA DITCH (4400607) DWR↗: Observed p99 daily rate 27.0 cfs (max 40.0) exceeds total decreed absolute 22.9 cfs across 41448 recorded day(s).
- D D FERGUSON D NO 2 (4400587) DWR↗: Observed p99 daily rate 26.8 cfs (max 30.0) exceeds total decreed absolute 18.3 cfs across 11558 recorded day(s).
Seniority (top structures by decreed rate)
| Structure | Senior priority date | Rights | Decreed abs (cfs) | Decreed abs (AF) | Conditional? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAYBELL CANAL (4400694) DWR↗ | 1899-10-02 | 3 | 149.0 | 0 | — |
| DEEP CUT IRRIGATING DITCH (4400589) DWR↗ | 1884-05-13 | 6 | 68.7 | 0 | — |
| JUNIPER MOUNTAIN TUNNEL AND IRRIGATION D (4400675) DWR↗ | 1890-04-02 | 5 | 67.0 | 0 | — |
| MARTIN CK DITCH (4400692) DWR↗ | 1900-05-30 | 3 | 62.0 | 0 | — |
| D D & E DITCH (4400586) DWR↗ | 1888-03-01 | 6 | 49.3 | 582 | — |
| CRAIG STATION DITCH AND PIPELINE NO1 (4400522) DWR↗ | 1895-06-25 | 25 | 44.9 | 0 | yes |
| LILY PARK DITCH NO 1 (4400500) DWR↗ | 1886-04-10 | 1 | 36.7 | 0 | — |
| WISCONSIN DITCH (4400511) DWR↗ | 1888-05-19 | 3 | 32.0 | 0 | — |
| NORVELL DITCH (4400724) DWR↗ | 1885-05-14 | 2 | 30.0 | 0 | — |
| WILLIAMS FORK RIVER MSF (4401448) DWR↗ | 1992-09-16 | 1 | 30.0 | 0 | — |
| SYNTHETIC PRODUCTS DITCH (4400779) DWR↗ | 1895-06-25 | 25 | 26.8 | 0 | — |
| MCKINLAY DITCH NO 2 (4400700) DWR↗ | 1890-05-01 | 4 | 25.7 | 0 | — |
| VAUGHN PUMP (4401122) DWR↗ | 1984-04-18 | 1 | 25.0 | 0 | — |
| ELKHEAD CREEK (LOWER) IS (4402557) DWR↗ | 2017-01-24 | 1 | 24.0 | 0 | — |
| HUSTON DITCH (4400657) DWR↗ | 1892-08-10 | 2 | 23.5 | 0 | — |
No inventory or legal-document changes detected since the daily watch began.
Water-court filings this month (division-wide)
5 applications in the 2026-08 resume for this basin's division — new rights, changes, augmentation plans — from the water clerk's statutory monthly notice (C.R.S. 37-92-302), the earliest public signal of a new claim. Filings are division-wide, not district-filtered: check the county column. Full resume PDF at the Judicial Branch →
Anyone affected may file a statement of opposition until 2026-10-31 (61 days left). C.R.S. 37-92-302(3): due by the last day of the second month following the filing month — computed, not legal advice; confirm with the water clerk.
All 5 filings, with excerpts
| Case | What it asks | County | Excerpt |
|---|---|---|---|
2026CW10
|
— | ROUTT | 2026CW10 Routt County Application for Absolute Water Rights (Storage). Applicant: Wilton Earle 785 Valley View Drive Craig, CO 81625; 970-824-6258; rettae74@gmail.com.; Logan Earle 785 Valley View Drive Craig, CO 81625; 970-620-5288; earlelogan679@gmail.com St… |
2026CW11
|
— | RIO BLANCO | 2026CW11 Rio Blanco County Application for Simple Change in Surface Point of Diversion. Applicants: John and Diana Hartman, 2804 E Main Street, Rangely, CO 81648, 970-618-0088, dgrantelk@gmail.com Structure: Calvat Ditch. Original Decree: CA099. Case: 11/26/19… |
2026CW3009
|
reasonable diligence | — | 2026CW3009 ROUTT AND RIO BLANCO COUNTIES, Prima Ranches LLC, c/o David Harbaugh, 3575 E Cherry Creek North Drive, Denver, CO 80209, (303) 478-8997. Please address all correspondence to: Geoffrey M. Williamson, Katherine Carter, Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLP… |
2026CW3010
|
change of water right, plan for augmentation, new underground right | ROUTT | 2026CW3010 ROUTT COUNTY Water Division: 6. DISTRICT COURT, WATER DIVISION SIX, STATE OF COLORADO, Routt County Combined Court, 1955 Shield Drive, Unit 200, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487. CONCERNING THE APPLICATION FOR WATER RIGHTS OF SIDNEY PEAK RANCH OWNERS’ AS… |
2026CW3011
|
change of water right | RIO BLANCO | 2026CW3011 RIO BLANCO COUNTY – WHITE RIVER. Mahogany Ranch, LLC, c/o Kevin L. Patrick, and John M. Sittler, Patrick, Miller & Noto, P.C., 229 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO 81621. (970) 920-1030. APPLICATION FOR CHANGE OF WATER RIGHT. Summary of Application: Applica… |
Call cascade
If a call were placed at a given seniority, which structures in this basin would be out of priority, and how much of their decreed rate would be curtailed? Computed from this basin's cached decrees.
What this does and doesn't model. Seniority arithmetic only: every right junior to the call is treated as curtailed. It does not model reach applicability — structures downstream of the calling point are not administered by it — and it applies no futile-call judgment. Read it as “who is junior to this date, and by how much,” not as a prediction of what the Division Engineer would actually order.
Pick a calling right
Real decrees from this basin, ordered by administration number — that is, by actual seniority. The years will look out of order, and that is correct: an administration number encodes the adjudication date as well as the appropriation date, so a right appropriated in 1970 can be administered ahead of one from 1950. A senior call curtails almost everything; a junior one curtails almost nothing.
Or enter an administration number directly
DWR administration numbers encode appropriation and adjudication dates; lower is more senior.