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DONATH RESERVOIR

Structure dossier · WDID 0404116 · 3 · BIG THOMPSON RIVER · DWR record

Where this page's figures come from

Generated 2026-08-27 21:25 by Hydrohistorian. Sources: DWR HydroBase snapshot HydroBase_CO_20260707 (history) + CDSS REST (current), USGS NWIS cross-checks. Engine v0.5.0 (2deb1d7) — every figure regenerates from this named code version and data image.

Where it sits

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

Which of its rights are out of priority?

Not computable for this structure: this structure is not on the modelled flow network, so no reference gage can honestly stand in for it.

Where it sits in line

Priority 1883-02-24 — 42nd most senior of the 1296 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: LONE TREE RES (1881-02-01). Immediately behind: SPRING GARDEN W 2-57455 (1883-12-31).

Decreed rights (2)

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. UnitsUsesWhat the court said this water may be used for -- irrigation, municipal supply, augmentation and so on.Case
12108.01883-02-241883-05-28 1147.840.0 AIRR
29675.209851907-06-161939-11-14 1147.80.0 AIRR

Recorded use (last 15 years on record)

In a median year this structure has a recorded diversion of 994 AF. Its most recent year on record, 2024, came in at 691 AF — 70% of that, and 2nd lowest of the 15 years with a recorded volume.

This structure records both diversions and reservoir releases — they are separate water movements and are accounted separately below.

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 recordReleased (AF)Days recordedPeak (cfs)
2010 853 4th lowest of 15 · 86% of median — 18 46.7
2011 994 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median — 21 51.2
2012 805 3rd lowest of 15 · 81% of median — 12 52.0
2013 2,627 15th lowest of 15 · 264% of median — 31 75.0
2014 2,122 14th lowest of 15 · 214% of median — 23 89.2
2015 593 1st lowest of 15 · 60% of median — 8 53.4
2016 1,380 11th lowest of 15 · 139% of median — 68 43.5
2017 1,519 12th lowest of 15 · 153% of median — 50 67.9
2018 968 7th lowest of 15 · 97% of median — 40 43.4
2019 1,558 13th lowest of 15 · 157% of median — 53 43.3
2020 858 5th lowest of 15 · 86% of median — 16 54.5
2021 897 6th lowest of 15 · 90% of median — 17 40.3
2022 1,311 10th lowest of 15 · 132% of median — 73 43.0
2023 1,241 9th lowest of 15 · 125% of median — 64 36.8
2024 691 2nd lowest of 15 · 70% of median — 32 46.3

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.