Hydrohistorian
← My Water · Print / save as PDF
LITTLE NELL SPRING
Structure dossier · WDID 3806137 · 4 · ROARING FORK RIVER · DWR record
Where this page's figures come from
Generated 2026-08-27 19:49 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 1973-12-31 — 2937th most senior of the 4788 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: MOSHER DITCH & PIPELINE (1968-06-01). Immediately behind: MCCLUSKEY WELL NO 1 (1978-08-18).
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. | Units | UsesWhat the court said this water may be used for -- irrigation, municipal supply, augmentation and so on. | Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49673.4529 | 1973-12-31 | 1986-12-31 | 0.13 | 0.0 | C | DOM |
Recorded use (last 3 years on record)
In a median year this structure has a recorded diversion of 14 AF. Its most recent year on record, 1998, came in at 12 AF — 86% of that, and 1st lowest of the 3 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 47 | 3rd lowest of 3 · 336% of median | 183 | 0.1 |
| 1995 | 14 | 2nd lowest of 3 · 100% of median | 72 | 0.1 |
| 1998 | 12 | 1st lowest of 3 · 86% of median | 129 | 0.1 |
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.