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STEPHENS DITCH

Structure dossier · WDID 3000639 · 1 · ANIMAS RIVER · DWR record

Where this page's figures come from

Generated 2026-08-27 22:21 by Hydrohistorian. Sources: DWR HydroBase snapshot HydroBase_CO_20260707 (history) + CDSS REST (current), USGS NWIS cross-checks. Engine v0.5.0 (a1c9146) — 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 1881-04-11 — 188th most senior of the 2277 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: FALLS CREEK DIV PTS AP PT 2 (1881-01-22). Immediately behind: REDCLIFF PUMP STATION (1881-04-11).

Decreed rights (1)

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
11424.01881-04-111923-11-08 2.50.0 CIRR A-12

Recorded use (last 15 years on record)

In a median year this structure has a recorded diversion of 143 AF. Its most recent year on record, 2025, came in at 180 AF — 126% of that, and 11th 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 17 2nd lowest of 15 · 12% of median 183 0.1
2012 19 4th lowest of 15 · 13% of median 202 0.1
2013 18 3rd lowest of 15 · 13% of median 184 0.1
2014 36 5th lowest of 15 · 25% of median 204 0.1
2015 180 11th lowest of 15 · 126% of median 187 0.5
2016 133 7th lowest of 15 · 93% of median 152 0.5
2017 186 14th lowest of 15 · 130% of median 192 0.5
2018 196 15th lowest of 15 · 137% of median 202 0.5
2019 167 10th lowest of 15 · 117% of median 173 0.5
2020 183 13th lowest of 15 · 128% of median 189 0.5
2021 160 9th lowest of 15 · 112% of median 171 0.5
2022 143 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median 157 0.5
2023 7 1st lowest of 15 · 5% of median 11 0.5
2024 91 6th lowest of 15 · 64% of median 103 0.5
2025 180 11th lowest of 15 · 126% of median 184 0.5

How good is our record of it?

Grade B (7/10 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 1 right(s), seniority decoded
diversion record present 4160 measured days; currency unknown (no data-coverage date to compare against)
record continuity sparse 19% of the irrigation seasons in 1925-2025 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.