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Water Division 6: the Yampa, White and North Platte
Water Division 6 is northwest Colorado: the drainage basins of the White, the Yampa or Bear, the Green and the North Platte rivers, with all their tributaries. C.R.S. § 37-92-201(1)(f)
It holds 17,878 decreed water-right records (10% of the state), and it is the only division where stock watering is the most common decreed use. Its water court and division engineer are in Steamboat Springs.
Division 6 at a glance
| Measure | Division 6 | Among the seven |
|---|---|---|
| Decreed water-right records | 17,878 | sixth most, 10% of the state |
| Records with an absolute amount | 15,788 | 88% of the division |
| Records that are conditional only | 661 | rank 5 of 7 |
| Distinct structures (WDIDs) | 14,326 | rank 6 of 7 |
| Well permit records | 18,040 | fewest, 3% of the state |
| Ditch priorities dated before statehood (Aug. 1, 1876) | 0 | of 3,469 ditch priorities |
| Calls in effect, Oct. 2026 | 6 | 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).
Springs, stock water and late priorities
The record here reads like ranch country. Stock watering is the most common decreed use, carried by 10,028 records (56%); in every other division irrigation is first. The most common structure is not a ditch or a well but a spring: 6,346 records, 35% of the division.
Priorities came late. Not one ditch priority still decreed absolute predates statehood; the oldest is the TAYLOR DITCH on Good Spring Creek, appropriated May 1, 1879. That matters for anyone buying a ranch here: a "senior" right in Division 6 can be decades younger than a junior one on the Front Range, and seniority only counts against rights on the same source. Start with buying land with water rights.
Storage is modest by Colorado standards. The largest absolute storage right, Steamboat Lake, is 23,064 acre-feet, the smallest top storage right of the seven divisions. The largest flow right is a recreation decree, Steamboat Springs Boating Park (Ricd) on the Yampa River at 1,400 cfs. The statute also puts the North Platte here; Jackson County contributes 1,867 records.
What the statute puts in Division 6
Division 6: Division 6 consists of all lands in the state of Colorado in the drainage basins of the White river, the Yampa or Bear river, the Green river, the North Platte river, and all of their tributaries.
The oldest ditch priorities in Division 6
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAYLOR DITCH | GOOD SPRING CREEK | May 1, 1879 | 1.66 cfs | Storage, Irrigation, Industrial, Augmentation |
| THOMAS DOUDLE DITCH | BEAVER CREEK | Apr. 15, 1880 | 1.66 cfs | Irrigation |
| POWELL PARK DITCH | WHITE RIVER | May 1, 1880 | 20 cfs | Irrigation |
| BROCKER ENDOMILE DITCH | OWL CREEK | May 15, 1880 | 2 cfs | Irrigation |
| CAPRON DITCH | PINKHAM CREEK | Jun. 21, 1880 | 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEAMBOAT SPRINGS BOATING PARK (RICD) | YAMPA RIVER | Dec. 16, 2003 | 1,400 cfs | Recreation |
| TAYLOR DRAW PWR CONDUIT | WHITE RIVER | Jul. 3, 1962 | 620 cfs | Irrigation, Municipal, Industrial, Fishery, Domestic, Stock, Power generation, All beneficial uses |
| BUDDY'S POND | ANTELOPE CREEK | Dec. 31, 1972 | 206 cfs | Recreation, Fishery, Wildlife |
| ROSS POND | ILLINOIS RIVER | Dec. 31, 1982 | 204.5 cfs | Recreation, Fishery, Wildlife |
| NORTH HACKLEY POND | SOAP CREEK | Dec. 31, 1986 | 204.5 cfs | Recreation, Fishery, Wildlife |
Storage rights (acre-feet)
| Structure | Source | Appropriated | Net absolute | Decreed uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEAMBOAT LAKE | WILLOW CREEK | Oct. 18, 1961 | 23,064 AF | Irrigation, Industrial, Recreation, Fishery, Domestic |
| CALDER RESERVOIR NO. 2 | POT CREEK | Jul. 16, 1962 | 15,000 AF | Fishery |
| TAYLOR DRAW RES | WHITE RIVER | Jul. 3, 1962 | 13,800 AF | Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Fishery, Domestic, Stock, Power generation |
| ELKHEAD CREEK RESERVOIR | ELKHEAD CREEK | Oct. 16, 2002 | 12,957 AF | Irrigation, Municipal, Commercial, Industrial, Recreation, Fishery, Domestic, Stock, Augmentation, Power generation |
| STAGECOACH RESERVOIR | YAMPA RIVER | Sep. 30, 1961 | 11,614 AF | Storage, Irrigation, Municipal, Industrial, Recreation, Fishery, Domestic, Stock, Power generation |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stock | 10,028 | 56% |
| Irrigation | 7,217 | 40% |
| Domestic | 4,381 | 25% |
| Wildlife | 2,320 | 13% |
| Recreation | 1,796 | 10% |
| Fishery | 1,747 | 10% |
| Structure type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | 6,346 | 35% |
| Reservoir | 4,273 | 24% |
| Ditch | 4,210 | 24% |
| Well | 1,607 | 9% |
| Pump | 588 | 3% |
| Other | 339 | 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: Yampa River (1,376); White River (528); Groundwater: Yampa River (363); Piceance Creek (316); Willow Creek (300); Little Snake River (297). "Groundwater:" entries are wells drawing on that stream's alluvium or on a named aquifer.
| Water district | Decreed records |
|---|---|
| 43 | 4,400 |
| 44 | 3,979 |
| 47 | 1,869 |
| 54 | 800 |
| 55 | 522 |
| 56 | 1,028 |
| 57 | 1,336 |
| 58 | 3,944 |
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: Routt (6,278); Moffat (5,048); Rio Blanco (4,000); Jackson (1,867); Garfield (647); Grand (13). 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 6 active administrative records in Division 6 (6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEAR RIVER | FIX DITCH | Jun. 16, 1884 | Oct. 6, 2026 |
| SODA CREEK | SODA CREEK DITCH | Jun. 10, 1887 | Aug. 10, 2026 |
| OAK CREEK | LYON DITCH 2 | Sep. 23, 1898 | Sep. 11, 2026 |
| SMITH CREEK | VAIL SAVAGE DITCH | Sep. 19, 1904 | Sep. 23, 2026 |
| HOT SPRING CREEK | HOT SPRINGS CR HIGHLINE DITCH | Sep. 27, 1904 | Aug. 6, 2026 |
Water court, water clerk and division engineer
- Water court: Routt County Courthouse, Steamboat Springs Colorado Judicial Branch · Oct. 2026. Applications are heard by the Division 6 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 6.
- Water clerk: in the office of the clerk of the district court, Routt County C.R.S. § 37-92-204(1)(b).
- Division engineer: office in Steamboat Springs 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:
- Colorado River Compact (Yampa, White and Green) C.R.S. title 37, article 61
- Upper Colorado River Compact (Yampa, White and Green) C.R.S. title 37, article 62
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 2: Arkansas (20,249 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 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 6?
At the Routt County Courthouse in Steamboat Springs. The water clerk keeps filings in the Routt County district court clerk's office (C.R.S. § 37-92-204(1)(b)), and the division engineer's office is in Steamboat Springs.
What is the oldest water right in Division 6?
Among ditch priorities still decreed absolute, the TAYLOR DITCH on Good Spring Creek, appropriated May 1, 1879, as recorded by DWR on October 16, 2026. No ditch priority in the division predates Colorado statehood in 1876.
Is the North Platte River in Water Division 6?
Yes. C.R.S. § 37-92-201(1)(f) puts the North Platte and its tributaries in Division 6, along with the White, the Yampa or Bear, and the Green.
Which counties are in Water Division 6?
By number of decreed records: Routt, Moffat, Rio Blanco, Jackson, Garfield. Garfield and Grand counties reach into other divisions, so place a specific parcel with the DWR Map Viewer.