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FORT LYON CANAL
Structure dossier · WDID 1700553 · 1 · ARKANSAS RIVER · DWR record
Where this page's figures come from
Generated 2026-08-27 19:52 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 in line
Priority 1884-04-15 — 9th most senior of the 1909 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: LAKE MEREDITH (1881-03-10). Immediately behind: FORT LYON STORAGE CANAL (1884-04-15).
Decreed rights (8)
| 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. | Units | UsesWhat the court said this water may be used for -- irrigation, municipal supply, augmentation and so on. | Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12524.0 | 1884-04-15 | 1905-04-08 | 164.64 | 0.0 | C | IRRCOMSTKAUG | 4 |
| 13574.0 | 1887-03-01 | 1905-04-08 | 597.16 | 0.0 | C | IRRCOMSTK | 6 |
| 14469.0 | 1889-08-12 | 1905-04-08 | 355.2 | 0.0 | C | STO | R1 |
| 15949.0 | 1893-08-31 | 1905-04-08 | 171.2 | 0.0 | C | IRRCOMSTK | 25 |
| 20186.17015 | 1896-08-01 | 1927-02-03 | 1150.0 | 0.0 | C | STO | R6 |
| 47596.0 | 1980-04-24 | 1990-12-31 | 0.0 | 0.0 | A | IRR | |
| 47596.0 | 1980-04-24 | 1990-12-31 | 0.0 | 0.0 | C | IRR | |
| 51134.47596 | 1980-04-24 | 1990-12-31 | 0.0 | 0.0 | C | IRR |
Recorded use (last 15 years on record)
In a median year this structure has a recorded diversion of 174,949 AF. Its most recent year on record, 2025, came in at 133,197 AF — 76% of that, and 4th lowest of the 15 years with a recorded volume.
| Year | Diverted (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 record | Days recorded | Peak (cfs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 191,940 | 9th lowest of 15 · 110% of median | 249 | 999.0 |
| 2012 | 51,529 | 1st lowest of 15 · 30% of median | 178 | 317.0 |
| 2013 | 139,028 | 5th lowest of 15 · 80% of median | 246 | 928.0 |
| 2014 | 202,228 | 12th lowest of 15 · 116% of median | 242 | 935.0 |
| 2015 | 259,664 | 14th lowest of 15 · 148% of median | 246 | 1020.0 |
| 2016 | 201,257 | 10th lowest of 15 · 115% of median | 260 | 1070.0 |
| 2017 | 310,654 | 15th lowest of 15 · 178% of median | 264 | 1110.0 |
| 2018 | 159,461 | 7th lowest of 15 · 91% of median | 343 | 905.0 |
| 2019 | 236,565 | 13th lowest of 15 · 135% of median | 365 | 1040.0 |
| 2020 | 119,027 | 3rd lowest of 15 · 68% of median | 366 | 763.0 |
| 2021 | 156,617 | 6th lowest of 15 · 90% of median | 365 | 1020.9 |
| 2022 | 115,863 | 2nd lowest of 15 · 66% of median | 365 | 765.0 |
| 2023 | 174,949 | 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median | 365 | 837.0 |
| 2024 | 201,855 | 11th lowest of 15 · 115% of median | 366 | 1352.8 |
| 2025 | 133,197 | 4th lowest of 15 · 76% of median | 304 | 929.1 |
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.