Colorado Supreme Court Water Court Committee

The State of Colorado Supreme Court conducted an examination of the manner in which the judicial branch handled water cases within the state. Under the direction of Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey on December 4, 2007, the committee would research the current condition of the water court system and submit its finding to the General Assembly and the Governor by August 1, 2008. The investigation attempted to assess three aspects of judicial proceedings, while respecting existing water use rights: "Identify the level of efficiency of the Colorado water court system, gather ideas from the public for ways to better use Colorado water court resources, identify the burden of the water courts on the general public and gather ideas to reduce the burden" (p. 5).

A survey, circulated for the research, addressed three general areas of concern, the timeliness of responses by opposers in water court cases, the training and education of judicial employees, such as referees and judges, and the expediency with which the court acted on cases. The company that coordinated the survey sent the document to emails within the databases of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Trout Unlimited, Colorado Water Congress, Division of Water Resources, Colorado Bar Association, Ditch and Reservoir Company Alliance, CDM (Camp, Dresser, and McKee), American Council of Engineering Companies, and water court referees. Of the 3700 surveys sent, 328 professionals and 132 non-professionals responded.

From the feedback of the committee participants and survey responders, the committee, lead by Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr., a Supreme Court Justice, made ten recommendations. They included (1) changing two of the Colorado water district boundaries, (2) revising a few troublesome procedural rules, (3) requiring water court experts to sign a declaration, (4) improving and expanding water law education, (5) making the water committee permanent, (6) improving public information on water court proceedings, (7) reviewing and updating current water court forms, (8) increasing water court funding to ensure timely execution, (9) continuing the development of state water models and decision support tools, and (10) validating appropriate and sufficient staffing and workload allocation for the state's water court judges and referees.

Some recommendations would require modifications to the 'Water Rights Determination and Administration Act of 1969', especially the section on 'Water Divisions - Courts' (Colo Rev Stat 37-92-201). The committee argued that their proposals would expedite and reduce the costs of the legal process. The state should continue to adapted the law to climatic, population, and legal changes.

http://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/File/Court_Probation/Supreme_Court/Committees/Water_Court_Committee/Final_Report_August_1_2008.pdf
State of Colorado Water Conservation Board. (2008, May 19). Colorado Supreme Court Water Court Committee Survey Results. Denver, CO: State of Colorado.