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DRY CREEK DITCH

Structure dossier · WDID 0300912 · DITCH · CACHE LA POUDRE RIVER · DWR record

Source DWR administrative record · verify at DWR structure ↗ Source DWR administrative record · verify at DWR diversion records ↗ Source Our computation, scored against a reference · scored against DWR's call analysis, see /methods

Where this page's figures come from

Generated 2026-10-13 15:16 by Hydrohistorian. Sources: DWR HydroBase snapshot HydroBase_CO_20260928 (history) + CDSS REST (current), USGS NWIS cross-checks. Engine v0.5.0 (dd58e60) — every figure regenerates from this named code version and data image.

The record and the river

Download this structure

Everything on this page as data you can work with — and a README that makes it citable: the HydroBase snapshot it was built from, the build commit, what every column means, the method behind each derived figure, and that method's stated limits.

⇩ Full record (.zip) Print / save as PDF

Or one table at a time: rights.csv · annual_use.csv · curtailment_now.csv · court_cases.csv · co_parties.csv · call_climatology.csv

What is in the bundle
  • rights.csv — every decreed right, most senior first, with admin numbers, dates, amounts, uses and case numbers.
  • annual_use.csv — recorded diversion by year, with releases accounted separately.
  • curtailment_now.csv — each right's current priority status and how often it was out across analog years.
  • court_cases.csv — the cases attached to its rights.
  • co_parties.csv — the other structures that were parties to those cases. Not available anywhere else.
  • call_climatology.csv — how often each right has been out of priority by week of season, with confidence intervals and the seasons the record could actually judge.
  • README.txt — provenance, methods, limits, disclaimer, and links back to DWR's own records for verification.

Where it sits

Location as DWR records it (diversion). Faint dots are the neighbouring water; click any to open it.

Current administration

● Junior rights called out — call at CANAL 3 DITCH (CACHE LA POUDRE RIVER, priority 1870-04-01).

● Junior rights called out — call at OGILVY DITCH (CACHE LA POUDRE RIVER, priority 1884-04-10).

● Junior rights called out — call at B H EATON DITCH (CACHE LA POUDRE RIVER, priority 1864-04-01).

Which of its rights are out of priority?

The outlook for the weeks ahead is not computable for this structure: no administrative call record for this basin. Today’s position is a separate question, and it is answered in Current administration above — that screen reads the district’s active calls and needs no reference gage.

Where it sits in line

Priority 1861-06-10 — 33rd most senior of the 2964 structures with decreed rights in this water districtDWR's administrative subdivision of a river basin; the unit calls are usually stated in..

Under prior appropriationColorado's rule for sharing water: first in time, first in right. Age decides, not proximity or need., everything ahead of it in this line is satisfied in full before it receives any water. Immediately ahead: WARREN LAKE RES (1861-06-01). Immediately behind: OVERLAND POND RESERVOIR SYSTEM (1861-06-10).

On MAINSTEM at river mile 112.5, it is 403rd of 818 down the reach. Immediately upstream: WATSON LAKE. Immediately downstream: LOBAN DIVR PT 1.

Position on the modelled network, not a claim about whose water this is — a stream carries water from many rights at once, and diverted water returns to it.

Decreed rights (16)

Admin noDWR's numeric encoding of a water right's seniority. Smaller is more senior; the integer part counts days from 1849-12-31 to the date that ranks the right. AppropriatedWhen water was first put to beneficial use. It sets seniority unless a prior adjudication date is later. AdjudicatedWhen the water court confirmed the right. A use decreed in 1975 was not a decreed use in 1955, however old the appropriation is. AbsoluteA right actually put to use, as opposed to conditional -- a placeholder for a use not yet made. ConditionalA right reserving a place in line for a use not yet made; it must be diligently pursued or it lapses. Alt-pointAn absolute amount decreed at another structure that may be diverted here instead -- an alternate point of diversion or an exchange. DWR calls this the APEX amount; a right showing 0.0 absolute but an alt-point amount is exercised here under another structure's decree. Decreed forWhat the court said this water may be used for -- irrigation, municipal supply, augmentation and so on.Case
4179.00000 1861-06-101882-04-11 11.67 cfs 0.0 — Irrigation, Municipal +1 08CW0277, 87CW0332 +1
4443.00000 1862-03-011882-04-11 0.0 cfs 0.0 0.9432 cfs Storage, Irrigation +8 03CW0421, 03CW0422 +1
5372.00000 1864-09-151882-04-11 0.0 cfs 0.0 1.2167 cfs Storage, Irrigation +8 07CW0190, 03CW0422 +1
6649.00000 1868-03-151882-04-11 0.0 cfs 0.0 0.4087 cfs Storage, Irrigation +8 03CW0421, 03CW0422 +1
7599.00000 1870-10-211882-04-11 14.42 cfs 0.0 — Irrigation, Municipal +1 08CW0277, 87CW0332 +1
8480.00000 1873-03-201882-04-11 0.0 cfs 0.0 0.3508 cfs Storage, Irrigation +8 07CW0190, 03CW0422 +1
8659.00000 1873-09-151882-04-11 12.13 cfs 0.0 — Irrigation, Municipal +1 87CW0332, 08CW0277 +1
10318.00000 1878-04-011882-04-11 0.0 cfs 0.0 0.633 cfs Storage, Irrigation +8 03CW0421, 03CW0422 +1
10788.00000 1879-07-151882-04-11 12.7 cfs 0.0 — Irrigation, Municipal +1 08CW0277, 87CW0332 +1
11438.00000 1881-04-251882-04-11 0.0 cfs 0.0 40.5636 cfs Storage, Irrigation +8 07CW0190, 03CW0422 +1
23646.00000 1914-09-281945-12-18 0.0 cfs 0.0 3.183 cfs All beneficial uses 03CW0421
26409.23646 1914-09-281945-12-18 0.0 cfs 0.0 18.4079 cfs Storage, Irrigation +8 03CW0422, 07CW0190
50038.00000 1986-12-311986-12-31 0.0 cfs 50.0 cfs 800.0 cfs Municipal, All beneficial uses 86CW0401, 86CW0402 +1
55152.00000 2000-12-312000-12-31 0.0 cfs 0.0 50.0 cfs Irrigation, Municipal +7 00CW0251
56224.00000 2003-12-082003-12-31 0.0 cfs 0.0 209.6 cfs Storage, Irrigation +8 03CW0421, 03CW0422
59161.00000 2011-12-232011-12-31 0.0 cfs 0.0 358.0 cfs Municipal 11CW0265

Amounts marked cfs are flow rates; AF are stored volumes (storage rights are decreed in acre-feet). An absolute amount of 0.0 beside an alt-point amount is not a dead right: the water is decreed at another structure, and that row records permission to divert it here instead (an alternate point or exchange). A case listing several numbers reflects the original decree plus later change cases.

How much of this decree was in priority, by day

A right is in priority on a day when it is senior to every call administering this structure. Of its 50.92 cfs decreed rate, the average day over the last 6 year(s) had 50.92 cfs in priority (100% of the decree). No call in effect is a free river — that was 100.0% of days.

Calls are set and released at a time of day, not at midnight, so a day is counted by the hour: a call setting at 4pm costs that day a third of its rate, not all of it.

This is paper water. It is the decreed rate that was in priority — not water that was physically in the stream, and not water this structure diverted. A ditch can be in priority for 50 cfs on a day the creek carries five. What that distinction means →

YearMean in priority (Apr–Sep) Share of decreeFree-river days Days fully out
2026 50.92 cfs 100% 285 0
2025 50.92 cfs 100% 365 0
2024 50.92 cfs 100% 366 0
2023 50.92 cfs 100% 365 0
2022 50.92 cfs 100% 365 0
2021 50.92 cfs 100% 80 0
Show the last 120 days, day by day
DateIn priorityControlling call
2026-10-12 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-11 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-10 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-09 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-08 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-07 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-06 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-05 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-04 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-03 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-02 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-10-01 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-30 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-29 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-28 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-27 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-26 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-25 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-24 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-23 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-22 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-21 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-20 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-19 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-18 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-17 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-16 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-15 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-14 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-13 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-12 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-11 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-10 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-09 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-08 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-07 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-06 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-05 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-04 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-03 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-02 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-09-01 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-31 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-30 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-29 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-28 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-27 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-26 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-25 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-24 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-23 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-22 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-21 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-20 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-19 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-18 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-17 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-16 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-15 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-14 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-13 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-12 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-11 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-10 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-09 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-08 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-07 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-06 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-05 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-04 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-03 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-02 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-08-01 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-31 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-30 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-29 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-28 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-27 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-26 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-25 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-24 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-23 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-22 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-21 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-20 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-19 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-18 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-17 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-16 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-15 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-14 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-13 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-12 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-11 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-10 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-09 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-08 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-07 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-06 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-05 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-04 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-03 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-02 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-07-01 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-30 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-29 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-28 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-27 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-26 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-25 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-24 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-23 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-22 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-21 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-20 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-19 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-18 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-17 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-16 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
2026-06-15 50.92 cfs (100%) free river — no call
How this is worked out, and what it cannot tell you
  • This is a decreed rate that was in priority -- paper water, not water that was available or diverted.
  • Augmentation plans, exchanges and substitute supply plans let a structure divert lawfully while out of priority; none are modelled.
  • Calls on the river this source flows into are included without a position test, so curtailment can be over-reported where the calling point sits above the confluence.
  • DWR's administration is the authority. Scored against DWR's own call analysis, this method agreed on 95.5% of 85,822 structure-days (2026-08-29).
  • Calls considered for this structure: 0.

Recorded use (last 15 years on record)

Years far under the decreed amount? That gap has a name — paper water vs. wet water, explained on this structure.

In a median year this structure has a recorded diversion of 4,716 AF. Its most recent year on record, 2025, came in at 6,265 AF — 133% of that, and 12th lowest of the 15 years with a recorded volume.

YearDiverted (AFA volume: one acre covered a foot deep, about 326,000 gallons -- roughly a suburban household's outdoor use for a year.)Compared with its own recordDays recordedPeak (cfs)
2011 6,563 13th lowest of 15 · 139% of median 187 34.0
2012 7,398 14th lowest of 15 · 157% of median 202 48.0
2013 4,345 6th lowest of 15 · 92% of median 138 31.4
2014 9,309 15th lowest of 15 · 197% of median 180 46.2
2015 3,703 3rd lowest of 15 · 78% of median 135 24.0
2016 4,716 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median 183 30.9
2017 3,639 2nd lowest of 15 · 77% of median 181 21.2
2018 4,342 5th lowest of 15 · 92% of median 170 28.2
2019 3,260 1st lowest of 15 · 69% of median 146 24.4
2020 5,351 10th lowest of 15 · 114% of median 188 32.0
2021 4,431 7th lowest of 15 · 94% of median 166 22.9
2022 6,248 11th lowest of 15 · 132% of median 199 30.7
2023 4,193 4th lowest of 15 · 89% of median 165 27.5
2024 5,013 9th lowest of 15 · 106% of median 199 23.2
2025 6,265 12th lowest of 15 · 133% of median 214 37.4

How good is our record of it?

Grade A (10/10 points) — the components below are the finding; the letter alone is not.

The rubric, component by component
CheckStateDetail
identity complete name, type, and water source all on file
decreed rights on file 16 right(s), seniority decoded
diversion record current 12299 measured days, newest 331 day(s) before the data's end (DWR publishes ~1 year in arrears)
record continuity continuous 76% of the irrigation seasons in 1949-2025 carry measured days
published-record stability stable no upstream revisions recorded against this structure

Advisory reading aid on public data — not an administrative or legal conclusion, not a title opinion, and not a substitute for DWR administration or an engineer's analysis. Methodology review status is disclosed at hydrohistorian's basin pages.

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