JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS

May 2009

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Colorado Supreme Court Confirms State and Division Engineers’ Authority to Administer Storage Water Rights Based on a Fixed Water Year
North Sterling Irrigation District v. Simpson

In this case, the Colorado Supreme Court rejected the North Sterling Irrigation District’s (NSID) contention that the imposition of a fixed water year is an unlawful interference with its decreed storage rights. Upholding the Water Court’s ruling, the Court held NSID’s storage rights may be administered based on a November 1 through October 31 water year. NSID argued that the State and Division Engineers (Engineers) acquiesced to its historical practice under which it began its fill year based on when the reservoir “low point” was reached, such that the Engineers could not change this historical practice.