Whenever any person or company diverts water from one public stream and turns it into another public stream, such person or company may take out the same amount of water again, less a reasonable deduction for seepage and evaporation, to be determined by the state engineer.
Source: L. 1897: p. 176, § 1. R.S. 08: § 3222. C.L. § 1702. CSA: C. 90, § 100. CRS 53: § 147-6-1. C.R.S. 1963: § 148-6-1.
ANNOTATION
Law reviews. For article,"Foreign Water in Colorado — The City's Right to Recapture and Re-Use Its Transmountain Diversion", see 42 Den. L. Ctr. J. 116 (1965). For article, "The Emerging Relationship Between Environmental Regulations and Colorado Water Law", see 53 U. Colo. L. Rev. 597 (1982).
This and the following sections are only remedial. Ashenfelter v. Carpenter, 37 Colo. 534, 87 P. 800 (1906); Gutshall v. Carpenter, 37 Colo. 536, 87 P. 801 (1906).
This section permitting any person or company to divert water from one public stream and turn it into another public stream, and take out the same amount of water again, is a solemn declaration that these are public streams. Hartman v. Tresise, 36 Colo. 146, 84 P. 685 (1906).
An appropriator of water may change the point of diversion, provided the rights of others are not injuriously affected thereby, and the fact that the appropriator has made such change does not settle the question of whether or not other appropriators are thereby injuriously affected, that question cannot be said to be authoritatively settled until judicially determined. New Cache la Poudre Irrigating Co. v. Arthur Irrigation Co., 37 Colo. 530, 87 P. 799 (1906).