Colorado ยท county water record
Water in Eagle 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.
- 5,189 Live water rights across 1,668 square miles
- 2,471 Wells drilled across 1,668 square miles
- 15,268 ac Irrigated ground across 1,668 square miles
- 102 ft Well depth middle value across 349 of 1,668 square miles
- 92 days Days called out middle value across 470 of 1,668 square miles
Point at any square mile to read what is on it. Hover the maps below to compare them.
Eagle 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
1,668 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
Most well permits ever issued here are dead
55% of 4,714 well permits are still live, against 69% across the state. An expired or cancelled permit is not permission to do anything.
CDSS well permits 3 of 60 counties
55% here 3rd of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
Much of what stores water here predates the rules
384 structures here were in place before 1972, when Colorado began requiring a permit to build one. They are lawful because they are old, their records are thin, and what a buyer inherits is whatever the state happens to have written down.
CDSS structures 7 of 59 counties
384 here 7th of 59 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
A lot of the water decreed here was never built
10% of rights are conditional only. A court said somebody may build it and nobody has.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 8 of 58 counties
10% here 8th of 58 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
Towns hold a large share of the water here
31% of rights allow municipal use. 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 12 of 58 counties
31% here 12th of 58 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
Soil here holds water at the surface rather than letting it through
93% of sections have hydrologic group D soil, the slowest-infiltrating class. Good ground for a stock pond, which will hold without lining. Bad ground for a septic absorption field and for well recharge, because one property drives all three.
USDA SSURGO soil survey 13 of 60 counties
93% here 13th of 60 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 50 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.
Stands out
Water here is still being fought over
15 water court applications named this county since 2021, the most recent in 2026. Every one is a public document you can read.
Colorado water court resumes 4 of 49 counties
15 here 4th of 49 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Context
Water systems here have unresolved health violations
2 of this county's 23 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 20 of 44 counties
2 here 20th of 44 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Context
A lot of this county is wet ground
54% of sections carry poorly drained soil, meaning a water table close to the surface for part of the year. A foundation and septic constraint, and often the most productive ground on a property.
USDA SSURGO soil survey 23 of 59 counties
54% here 23rd of 59 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Context
Half the wells drilled here never had a pump put in
59% 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 29 of 60 counties
59% here 29th 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 Eagle County