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COTTONWOOD DITCH NO 2

Structure dossier · WDID 3200529 · 1 · MCELMO CREEK · DWR record

Where this page's figures come from

Generated 2026-08-27 19:17 by Hydrohistorian. Sources: DWR HydroBase snapshot HydroBase_CO_20260707 (history) + CDSS REST (current), USGS NWIS cross-checks. Engine v0.5.0 (f6d7fdc) — every figure regenerates from this named code version and data image.

Where it sits in line

Priority 1890-05-21 — 132nd most senior of the 638 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: BRUMLEY DRAW IRR DITCH (1889-04-20). Immediately behind: COTTONWOOD DITCH NO 1 (1891-01-25).

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
14751.01890-05-211962-08-14 10.00.0 CIRRDOMSTK 62-10

Recorded use (last 15 years on record)

In a median year this structure has a recorded diversion of 2,570 AF. Its most recent year on record, 2025, came in at 2,305 AF — 90% of that, and 5th 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)
2011 2,461 6th lowest of 15 · 96% of median — 198 9.4
2012 2,513 7th lowest of 15 · 98% of median 99 221 9.3
2013 2,166 4th lowest of 15 · 84% of median 305 158 12.2
2014 2,677 11th lowest of 15 · 104% of median 330 183 15.0
2015 2,723 12th lowest of 15 · 106% of median 415 256 11.2
2016 2,672 10th lowest of 15 · 104% of median 771 253 10.8
2017 3,364 15th lowest of 15 · 131% of median 1,065 242 10.9
2018 2,976 14th lowest of 15 · 116% of median 505 233 11.7
2019 2,612 9th lowest of 15 · 102% of median 633 211 8.5
2020 2,788 13th lowest of 15 · 108% of median 639 237 12.0
2021 2,570 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median 369 244 14.4
2022 1,574 1st lowest of 15 · 61% of median 62 193 9.4
2023 2,060 2nd lowest of 15 · 80% of median 566 169 9.3
2024 2,115 3rd lowest of 15 · 82% of median 322 180 9.8
2025 2,305 5th lowest of 15 · 90% of median 172 189 11.0

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.