Colorado ยท county water record
Water in Adams County
What the state and federal record says about water here, before you look at any particular piece of ground. Every finding names the agency it came from.
- 2,947 Live water rights across 1,190 square miles
- 16,015 Wells drilled across 1,190 square miles
- 20,373 ac Irrigated ground across 1,190 square miles
- 110 ft Well depth middle value across 811 of 1,190 square miles
- 305 days Days called out middle value across 205 of 1,190 square miles
Point at any square mile to read what is on it. Hover the maps below to compare them.
Adams County by the square mile
Every finding on this page is one number for the whole county. These are the same records placed on the ground they came from.
Live water rights. Decreed rights still on the books. This is where the paper water is, which is not the same map as where anybody drilled.
- none on record (bare ground)
- up to 1
- 2
- 3
- 4 to 6
- 7 to 16
- over 16
1,190 surveyed sections, drawn one square mile to a square. The shading is scaled against every county in Colorado, so a colour means the same thing on any of these pages. The outline is the county boundary from the Census Bureau: ground inside the line and outside the shading is ground nobody has drilled, filed on or addressed. Aerial imagery is the USGS National Map.
Stands out
Ground here is prime farmland, but only if it is irrigated
93% of sections carry soil the USDA classes as 'prime farmland if irrigated', against 44% across the state. That qualifier is the whole sentence: the soil is excellent and the classification depends on water reaching it. It is what an appraiser and a conservation easement both test against.
USDA SSURGO soil survey 2 of 52 counties
93% here 2nd of 52 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Towns hold a large share of the water here
51% of rights allow municipal use, against 10% across the state. Municipal rights are senior more often than not and rarely come back on the market, so they shape what is left for everyone else.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 3 of 58 counties
51% here 3rd of 58 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Wells here get plugged and abandoned more than most
23.4% of well permits end in a plugging, against 9% across the state, 3,625 wells in all. A well sealed shut is the clearest verdict a driller ever files.
CDSS well permit action history 3 of 60 counties
23.4% here 3rd of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
Wells here have had to be re-drilled deeper
73 wells carry a later record more than 20% deeper than their first. Colorado publishes no water-level trend, so a well going back down is the closest thing to one.
CDSS well permit action history 6 of 59 counties
73 here 6th of 59 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
Many decrees here name a structure that no longer exists
14% of rights attach to a structure DWR marks abandoned, historical or non-existent. A decree citing a ditch that is gone is a title problem, not a water supply.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 8 of 60 counties
14% here 8th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
Water systems here have unresolved health violations
5 of this county's 64 community water systems carry a health-based violation that has not been returned to compliance. Health-based means contamination or a treatment failure, not late paperwork.
EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System 8 of 44 counties
5 here 8th of 44 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Context
Water here is called out for a large part of the year
The median right is out of priority 72 days a year on DWR's own analysis. The worst year on record here was 322 days.
DWR administrative call analysis 15 of 20 counties
72 days here 15th of 20 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Context
Dams here are rated unsatisfactory
3 of this county's 77 dams carry an unsatisfactory condition rating. A storage right behind a failing dam is water you cannot count on.
Colorado Dam Safety 16 of 42 counties
3 here 16th of 42 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
Half the wells drilled here never had a pump put in
66% of constructed wells have no pump installation on record. Somebody paid to drill a hole and walked away from it. A permit says you may drill; this is what happened when people did.
CDSS well permit action history 17 of 60 counties
66% here 17th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
Nobody measures what most structures here divert
61% of rights sit on structures where DWR keeps no diversion record. There is no way to check the paper against what actually came through.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 20 of 60 counties
61% here 20th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
This is the county. Your question is probably a property.
None of the above is about a particular parcel. Water is not parcel-shaped: the ditch serving the ground runs through other people's land and the senior right that curtails it sits somewhere else, which is why the state files by survey section rather than by property. Check an address and you get the square mile it sits in, with the wells, the rights and what was actually diverted.
Check a property in Adams County