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JOSEPHENE NO 1 DITCH

Structure dossier · WDID 5200665 · 1 · BIG ALKALI CREEK · DWR record

Where this page's figures come from

Generated 2026-08-27 22:20 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 1915-05-01 — 109th most senior of the 562 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: JOSEPHENE NO 2 DITCH (1914-05-15). Immediately behind: DRY GULCH SPRING - A (1926-04-17).

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
27455.238611915-05-011927-06-24 2.00.0 CIRR

Recorded use (last 15 years on record)

In a median year this structure has a recorded diversion of 88 AF. Its most recent year on record, 2023, came in at 110 AF — 125% of that, and 10th 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)
2007 82 7th lowest of 15 · 93% of median 57 0.8
2008 39 4th lowest of 15 · 44% of median 42 0.5
2009 99 9th lowest of 15 · 112% of median 51 1.0
2010 88 8th lowest of 15 · 100% of median 55 1.0
2011 244 15th lowest of 15 · 277% of median 84 1.5
2012 21 3rd lowest of 15 · 24% of median 26 0.5
2013 239 14th lowest of 15 · 272% of median 89 1.8
2014 140 11th lowest of 15 · 159% of median 98 1.5
2015 78 6th lowest of 15 · 89% of median 103 0.7
2016 158 13th lowest of 15 · 180% of median 62 1.6
2017 61 5th lowest of 15 · 69% of median 42 1.0
2018 0 1st lowest of 15 · 0% of median 1 0.0
2019 145 12th lowest of 15 · 165% of median 68 1.3
2020 1 2nd lowest of 15 · 1% of median 8 0.1
2023 110 10th lowest of 15 · 125% of median 54 1.4

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 3140 measured days; currency unknown (no data-coverage date to compare against)
record continuity sparse 30% of the irrigation seasons in 1974-2023 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.