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SURPRISE DITCH NO 1

Structure dossier · WDID 4500786 · 1 · COLORADO RIVER · DWR record

Where this page's figures come from

Generated 2026-08-27 22:11 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 1922-12-31 — 293rd most senior of the 1378 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: CAMERON SP NO 1 2 3 4 D (1921-05-01). Immediately behind: SURPRISE DITCH NO 2 (1922-12-31).

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
34825.266621922-12-311953-03-02 2.00.0 CIRR 192

Recorded use (last 15 years on record)

In a median year this structure has a recorded diversion of 365 AF. Its most recent year on record, 2018, came in at 19 AF — 5% of that, and 1st 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)
1994 440 15th lowest of 15 · 120% of median 230 1.0
1995 397 11th lowest of 15 · 109% of median 200 1.0
1996 365 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median 184 1.0
1997 365 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median 184 1.0
1998 365 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median 184 1.0
1999 397 11th lowest of 15 · 109% of median 200 1.0
2000 413 14th lowest of 15 · 113% of median 208 1.0
2001 407 13th lowest of 15 · 112% of median 205 1.0
2002 191 4th lowest of 15 · 52% of median 194 0.5
2003 198 5th lowest of 15 · 54% of median 200 0.5
2004 272 6th lowest of 15 · 74% of median 275 0.5
2005 301 7th lowest of 15 · 82% of median 304 0.5
2015 125 2nd lowest of 15 · 34% of median 143 0.8
2016 175 3rd lowest of 15 · 48% of median 170 1.0
2018 19 1st lowest of 15 · 5% of median 97 0.1

How good is our record of it?

Grade B (8/10 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 3874 measured days; currency unknown (no data-coverage date to compare against)
record continuity patchy 63% of the irrigation seasons in 1990-2018 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.