Gallegos v. Colorado Ground Water Commission

This case presents questions regarding the Colorado Ground Water Commission's jurisdiction over vested surface water rights within a designated ground water basin. We hold that the Commission has jurisdiction over surface water rights only for the purpose of altering the boundaries of a designated ground water basin. A surface water right holder who believes that pumping within a designated ground water basin is causing injury to those surface rights must prove to the Commission that the ground water alleged to cause the injury is hydrologically connected and causing injury to those rights.…