Last verified Jul. 2026

When you need a water rights attorney

The four situations where the cost is obviously worth it

1. Anything filed in water court

New rights, changes of water right, augmentation plans, diligence filings, exchanges. These are engineering cases conducted in legal form, with a statutory standard — no injury to vested rights — that is proved with expert modelling C.R.S. § 37-92-305(3)(a). Opposers will be represented by specialists. Self-representation here is rarely a saving.

2. Buying or selling water

Water is often the most valuable component of a Colorado agricultural property, and the diligence is unlike any other real estate work: reading the decree, checking historical consumptive use, confirming the right has not been partly abandoned, and understanding what a change case would actually yield. Buying water rights sets out the questions; a water attorney and a consulting water engineer answer them.

3. A deadline you cannot extend

Colorado water deadlines are short and unforgiving. A statement of opposition must be filed by the last day of the second month after the application was filed C.R.S. § 37-92-302(1)(c). A protest to a referee's ruling is due within 21 days of mailing C.R.S. § 37-92-304(2). If you have seen something in the resume that worries you, the time to call someone is that week.

4. A letter from the state

Curtailment orders, well permit enforcement, and appearance on a draft abandonment list all have response windows, and the consequences of ignoring them are permanent.

How to choose one

• Water law specifically. It is a genuine specialty. A fine real estate or general litigation attorney is not a substitute, and most will tell you so.
• Practises in your division. Local practice, local engineers, and familiarity with the division engineer's office matter. Ask which of the seven divisions they appear in regularly.
• Works with a water engineer. Ask who they use. In most cases the engineering drives the outcome and the legal work packages it.
• Fee structure. Ask for a written estimate broken into legal and engineering, and ask what happens if the case is opposed — that is the branch point that changes the number.

Where to look

Start with neutral, official sources rather than advertising:

• The Colorado Bar Association, whose Water Law Section is where most of the state's practitioners are. cobar.org
• The water court for your division — clerks cannot recommend counsel, but division filings are public, and the names appearing repeatedly in cases like yours are informative. Colorado Judicial Branch
• Your ditch or reservoir company, if you have one. They have counsel, and their board has watched local attorneys work for years.
• Neighbours who have been through it. In a small basin this is genuinely the best signal available.

What to bring to the first meeting

1. The decree, or the case number, for every right involved — reading a decree explains what you are looking at.
2. The WDID and the DWR records for the structure, which you can pull yourself from the state’s tools.
3. Well permits, ditch company share certificates, and the deed.
4. Any correspondence from the division engineer or the water clerk, with dates.
5. A one-paragraph statement of what you actually want to happen.

The rest of the legal section covers the proceedings an attorney would be taking you through, so you can arrive already knowing the shape of it.