State v. Southwestern Colorado Water Conservation District

LOHR, Justice.

This is an appeal from the judgment of the special water judge appointed by this court to decide questions of law common to numerous applications for determinations of conditional water rights in nontributary ground water1 outside the boundaries of designated ground water basins in all seven water divisions in the State of Colorado. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the cases to the respective divisions in which they were filed, with directions.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Late in December of 1978, four separate groups of claimants filed applications for determinations- of…