Colorado ยท county water record
Water in Pitkin 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.
- 2,828 Live water rights across 1,011 square miles
- 2,845 Wells drilled across 1,011 square miles
- 8,851 ac Irrigated ground across 1,011 square miles
- 99 ft Well depth middle value across 238 of 1,011 square miles
- 42 days Days called out middle value across 171 of 1,011 square miles
Point at any square mile to read what is on it. Hover the maps below to compare them.
Pitkin 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
1,011 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
A lot of the water decreed here was never built
15% of rights are conditional only, against 5% across the state. A court said somebody may build it and nobody has.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 4 of 58 counties
15% here 4th of 58 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Most well permits ever issued here are dead
58% of 4,788 well permits are still live, against 69% across the state. An expired or cancelled permit is not permission to do anything.
CDSS well permits 5 of 60 counties
58% here 5th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Water here changes hands and moves
21% of rights carry a transfer, exchange or alternate point event, against 11% across the state. An active market means a price exists, and it also means water can leave the ground it started on.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 6 of 60 counties
21% here 6th of 60 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
97% 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 7 of 60 counties
97% here 7th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
A lot of this county is wet ground
77% 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 7 of 59 counties
77% here 7th 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
12% 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 10 of 60 counties
12% here 10th of 60 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
62% 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 22 of 60 counties
62% here 22nd 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 Pitkin County