Last verified
Water Division 2: the Arkansas
Water Division 2 is the Arkansas basin: all Colorado land draining to the Arkansas River and the Dry Cimarron, and every stream tributary to them. C.R.S. § 37-92-201(1)(b)
It holds 20,249 decreed water-right records, 12% of the state, and more ditch priorities dated before statehood than any other division. Its water court and division engineer are both in Pueblo.
Division 2 at a glance
| Measure | Division 2 | Among the seven |
|---|---|---|
| Decreed water-right records | 20,249 | fourth most, 12% of the state |
| Records with an absolute amount | 17,537 | 87% of the division |
| Records that are conditional only | 587 | rank 6 of 7 |
| Distinct structures (WDIDs) | 16,821 | rank 4 of 7 |
| Well permit records | 136,256 | second most, 21% of the state |
| Ditch priorities dated before statehood (Aug. 1, 1876) | 1,102 | of 2,873 ditch priorities |
| Calls in effect, Oct. 2026 | 21 | dated snapshot, see below |
Counts pulled from the Colorado Division of Water Resources on October 16, 2026 DWR net amounts DWR well permits. A "record" is one decreed priority, so a ditch with three decrees counts three times; a well permit record is not a water right (see well permit vs. water right).
The oldest-settled ditch country, and the biggest headgate
Division 2 is where early ditch priorities are thickest on the ground. 1,102 of its 2,873 ditch priorities still decreed absolute were appropriated before Colorado became a state on August 1, 1876, more than in any other division, including the far larger Division 1. The most senior of them are on Greenhorn Creek, led by the RYE TOWN DITCH, appropriated May 1, 1859.
It also holds the single largest absolute flow right in any division: the ADOBE CREEK FEEDER, decreed at 8,631 cfs on Adobe Creek. Its decree sets when that amount may be taken; the figure is not what the ditch carries in an ordinary season. The largest storage right is John Martin Reservoir, at 343,960 acre-feet.
The most-recorded source, as in Division 1, is groundwater: wells in the Arkansas River alluvium make up 7,677 records, 38% of the division. Alluvial wells generally draw tributary groundwater, which is administered in priority with the river itself, and the river answers in turn to the Arkansas River Compact with Kansas (below). Buying land with a well here starts with checking what the property actually holds.
What the statute puts in Division 2
Division 2: Division 2 consists of all lands in the state of Colorado in the drainage basins of the Arkansas river and the Dry Cimarron river, and streams tributary to said rivers.
The oldest ditch priorities in Division 2
The five most senior ditch priorities in the division that still carry an absolute amount, ranked by DWR's administration number, one per structure. Each name links to the record in DWR's own system.
| Structure | Source | Appropriated | Net absolute | Decreed uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RYE TOWN DITCH | GREENHORN CREEK | May 1, 1859 | 0.1 cfs | Irrigation, Municipal |
| HICKLIN DITCH "A" | GREENHORN CREEK | May 1, 1859 | 0.5 cfs | Irrigation |
| HICKLIN DITCH "B" | GREENHORN CREEK | May 1, 1859 | 1.7 cfs | Irrigation |
| STARR DITCH (LOWER PT) | EVANS GULCH | May 1, 1860 | 51 cfs | Industrial, Domestic |
| HARDSCRABBLE DITCH | HARDSCRABBLE CREEK | May 1, 1860 | 0.94 cfs | Irrigation |
Ditches only: ranked across every structure type, the top of the list is taken by well and compact-accounting records dated earlier than any ditch (in some divisions, wells dated Dec. 31, 1850). Priority, not size, decides who is curtailed first in a call; read prior appropriation for why.
The largest decreed rights
Ranked by net absolute amount, flow and storage separately because cubic feet per second and acre-feet measure different things. Big flow numbers often belong to power plants, whitewater parks and minimum streamflow rights; the decreed uses column shows which.
Flow rights (cfs)
| Structure | Source | Appropriated | Net absolute | Decreed uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADOBE CREEK FEEDER | ADOBE CREEK | Jan. 25, 1906 | 8,631 cfs | Storage |
| HORSE CREEK SUPPLY DITCH | HORSE CREEK | Dec. 20, 1907 | 5,000 cfs | Storage |
| FORT LYON STORAGE CANAL | ARKANSAS RIVER | Mar. 1, 1910 | 1,466 cfs | Storage |
| FORT LYON CANAL | ARKANSAS RIVER | Aug. 1, 1896 | 1,150 cfs | Storage |
| ST CHARLES FLOOD DITCH | SAINT CHARLES RIVER | Mar. 1, 1900 | 1,000 cfs | Storage, Irrigation |
Storage rights (acre-feet)
| Structure | Source | Appropriated | Net absolute | Decreed uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JOHN MARTIN RESERVOIR | ARKANSAS RIVER | May 31, 1949 | 343,960 AF | Irrigation, Export from state |
| PUEBLO RESERVOIR | ARKANSAS RIVER | Feb. 10, 1939 | 294,706 AF | Irrigation, Municipal, Domestic |
| TWIN LAKES RESERVOIR | LAKE CREEK | Feb. 10, 1939 | 139,750 AF | All beneficial uses |
| PALMER LAKE NT ARAPAHOE | GROUNDWATER: ARAPAHOE | Aug. 26, 1985 | 138,000 AF | All beneficial uses |
| TURQUOISE RESERVOIR | LAKE FORK | Feb. 10, 1939 | 129,432 AF | All beneficial uses |
A structure's net absolute amount is DWR's sum of its decreed transactions; the decree itself, read through how to read a decree, controls what the right can actually divert and when.
What the water is decreed for, and what diverts it
| Decreed use | Records carrying it | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Irrigation | 8,792 | 43% |
| Stock | 6,829 | 34% |
| Domestic | 6,569 | 32% |
| Municipal | 2,243 | 11% |
| Fire | 2,158 | 11% |
| Augmentation | 1,597 | 8% |
| Structure type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Well | 9,592 | 47% |
| Ditch | 3,408 | 17% |
| Spring | 2,535 | 13% |
| Reservoir | 2,435 | 12% |
| Well Field | 1,007 | 5% |
| Pipeline | 419 | 2% |
A record can carry several uses, so the shares add up to more than 100%. Use codes are DWR's own, as published with the net amounts data.
Streams, water districts and counties
Sources with the most decreed records: Groundwater: Arkansas River (7,677); Arkansas River (1,965); Groundwater: Fountain Creek (927); Huerfano River (597); Cucharas River (557); Groundwater: Laramie Fox Hills (425). "Groundwater:" entries are wells drawing on that stream's alluvium or on a named aquifer.
| Water district | Decreed records |
|---|---|
| 10 | 3,566 |
| 11 | 1,938 |
| 12 | 2,502 |
| 13 | 1,262 |
| 14 | 1,611 |
| 15 | 957 |
| 16 | 1,227 |
| 17 | 2,077 |
| 18 | 402 |
| 19 | 960 |
| 66 | 314 |
| 67 | 2,337 |
| 79 | 1,096 |
The district number is the first two digits of every WDID in it, and each district is typically covered by a water commissioner. Districts are numbered across the state, not within the division, which is why the numbers here are not consecutive.
Counties with the most records here: El Paso (3,571); Pueblo (2,685); Huerfano (2,327); Las Animas (1,575); Fremont (1,532); Custer (1,439); Chaffee (1,433); Otero (1,097). Division lines follow drainage, so a county can appear in two divisions; place a parcel with the DWR map viewer rather than by county.
Calls in effect on October 16, 2026
When this page's data was pulled, DWR listed 21 active administrative records in Division 2 (12 calls, 5 authorized diversions, 4 futile calls). The 5 with the oldest priority dates are below, oldest priority first; an older calling priority curtails more junior rights on that stream.
| Stream | Calling right | Priority date | Call set |
|---|---|---|---|
| HARDSCRABBLE CREEK | HARDSCRABBLE DITCH | May 1, 1860 | Jul. 31, 2026 |
| PURGATOIRE RIVER | CHILILI DITCH | Apr. 30, 1862 | Oct. 13, 2026 |
| FOURMILE CREEK | CANON HEIGHTS DITCH | May 31, 1862 | Jun. 5, 2026 |
| GREENHORN CREEK | HAYDEN SUPPLY DITCH | May 1, 1866 | Sep. 17, 2026 |
| APISHAPA RIVER | GONZALES DITCH | Oct. 31, 1866 | Oct. 7, 2026 |
Water court, water clerk and division engineer
- Water court: Pueblo County Judicial Building, Pueblo Colorado Judicial Branch · Oct. 2026. Applications are heard by the Division 2 water judge, designated each year by the Colorado Supreme Court C.R.S. § 37-92-203(2). The court's own page publishes the monthly resume of applications Water Division 2.
- Water clerk: in the office of the clerk of the district court, Pueblo County C.R.S. § 37-92-204(1)(b).
- Division engineer: office in Pueblo C.R.S. § 37-92-202(1)(b). The division engineer administers rights on the ground and places curtailment orders.
Interstate compacts codified in Title 37 that govern this division's rivers:
- Arkansas River Compact (with Kansas) C.R.S. title 37, article 69
Each compact is an agreement between states, ratified by the General Assembly and codified in the article cited. See the Colorado River Compact for how that works on the largest of them.
The other six divisions
- Division 1: South Platte (58,418 decreed records)
- Division 3: Rio Grande (18,451 decreed records)
- Division 4: Gunnison (22,396 decreed records)
- Division 5: Colorado (27,726 decreed records)
- Division 6: Yampa, White and North Platte (17,878 decreed records)
- Division 7: San Juan and Dolores (8,081 decreed records)
All seven side by side, with the map, are on Colorado's seven water divisions.
Common questions
Where is the water court for Division 2?
At the Pueblo County Judicial Building in Pueblo. The water clerk keeps filings in the Pueblo County district court clerk's office (C.R.S. § 37-92-204(1)(b)), and the division engineer's office is in Pueblo too.
What is the oldest water right in the Arkansas basin?
Among ditch priorities still decreed absolute, the most senior in Division 2 are on Greenhorn Creek, led by the RYE TOWN DITCH, appropriated May 1, 1859, as recorded by DWR on October 16, 2026.
Which counties are in Water Division 2?
Counties are split by drainage divides, so treat any list as approximate. By number of decreed records the largest in Division 2 are El Paso, Pueblo, Huerfano, Las Animas, Fremont, Custer. Place a specific parcel with the DWR Map Viewer.
What is the largest water right in Division 2?
By decreed flow, the ADOBE CREEK FEEDER on Adobe Creek at 8,631 cfs, the largest absolute flow right in any Colorado division. By storage, John Martin Reservoir at 343,960 acre-feet.