Hydrohistorian

← My Water  ·  Print / save as PDF

STAFFORD DITCH

Structure dossier · WDID 3600826 · 1 · BIG GULCH · DWR record

Where this page's figures come from

Generated 2026-08-27 23:51 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 1883-06-01 — 57th most senior of the 1247 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: SPERRY DITCH (1883-06-01). Immediately behind: DUSING NO 1 DITCH (1883-06-17).

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
12205.01883-06-011910-03-02 1.00.0 CIRR 18

Recorded use (last 15 years on record)

In a median year this structure has a recorded diversion of 26 AF. Its most recent year on record, 2024, came in at 35 AF — 135% 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)
2008 24 6th lowest of 15 · 92% of median 21 0.6
2011 82 14th lowest of 15 · 315% of median 66 1.0
2012 10 3rd lowest of 15 · 38% of median 17 0.3
2013 29 10th lowest of 15 · 112% of median 16 1.4
2014 37 12th lowest of 15 · 142% of median 23 1.1
2015 171 15th lowest of 15 · 658% of median 110 1.2
2016 49 13th lowest of 15 · 188% of median 26 1.1
2017 28 9th lowest of 15 · 108% of median 33 0.5
2018 8 2nd lowest of 15 · 31% of median 39 0.2
2019 7 1st lowest of 15 · 27% of median 21 0.2
2020 22 5th lowest of 15 · 85% of median 42 0.4
2021 25 7th lowest of 15 · 96% of median 37 0.4
2022 20 4th lowest of 15 · 77% of median 29 0.4
2023 26 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median 31 0.5
2024 35 11th lowest of 15 · 135% of median 39 0.6

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 1943 measured days; currency unknown (no data-coverage date to compare against)
record continuity sparse 19% of the irrigation seasons in 1975-2024 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.