City of Thornton v. Bijou Irr. Co.

• Decision Date: 15 October 1996
• Docket Number: No. 1,No. 2,A,No. 94SA66,2,1,94SA66
• Citation: City of Thornton v. Bijou Irr. Co., 926 P.2d 1 (Colo. 1996)
• Parties: The CITY OF THORNTON, Applicant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. BIJOU IRRIGATION CO.; Bijou Irrigation District; Andrew Blase & Vivien Akin; Burlington Ditch, Land & Reservoir Co.; Central Colorado Water Conservancy District and its Ground Water Management Subdistrict; Cache La Poudre Water Users Assoc.; City of Arvada; City of Aurora; City of Brighton; City of Broomfield; City and County of Denver, acting by and through its Board of Water Commissioners; City of Englewood; City of Greeley; Consolidated Ditches of District; Colorado Division of Wildlife; Harold Deane; Delta Irrigation Co.; Excalibur Resources Co.; Farmers Reservoir & Irrigation Co.; Fort Morgan Irrigation & Reservoir Co.; Henrylyn Irrigation District; Irrigationists Assoc.; Jackson Lake Reservoir & Irrigation Co.; Jackson Ditch Co.; Larimer & Weld Irrigation Co.; Larimer & Weld Reservoir Co.; New Cache La Poudre Irrigating Co.; North Poudre Irrigation Co.; Ogilvy Irrigating & Land Co.; Paul Lind & Sons; Wanda Lee Rankin; Riverside Irrigation District; Riverside Reservoir & Land Co.; St. Vrain & Left Hand Water Conservancy District; Thompson Water Users Assoc.; Water Supply and Storage Co.; Western Sugar Co.; and Windsor Reservoir Co., Objectors-Appellees, and Alan Berryman, Division Engineer, Water Divisionppellee pursuant to C.A.R. 1(e), and Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District; Keith Amen; Warren & Viola Amen; J.W. and Bessy L. Hutcheson; Dwain & Vera Yetter, Colorado Division Engineer, Water Division 1 and State Engineer (by motion to intervene); Public Service Company of Colorado; Eastman Kodak Company--Colorado Division; City of Fort Collins; and Platte River Power Authority, Objectors-Appellees/Cross-Appellants.
• Court: Colorado Supreme Court

Page 1

926 P.2d 1

The CITY OF THORNTON, Applicant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v.BIJOU IRRIGATION CO.; Bijou Irrigation District; Andrew Blase & Vivien Akin; Burlington Ditch, Land & Reservoir Co.; Central Colorado Water Conservancy District and its Ground Water Management Subdistrict; Cache La Poudre Water Users Assoc.; City of Arvada; City of Aurora; City of Brighton; City of Broomfield; City and County of Denver acting by and through its Board of Water CommissionersCity of Englewood; City of Greeley; Consolidated Ditches of District No. 2; Colorado Division of Wildlife; Harold Deane; Delta Irrigation Co.; Excalibur Resources Co.Farmers Reservoir & Irrigation Co.; Fort Morgan Irrigation & Reservoir Co.; Henrylyn Irrigation DistrictIrrigationists Assoc.; Jackson Lake Reservoir & Irrigation Co.; Jackson Ditch Co.; Larimer & Weld Irrigation Co.; Larimer & Weld Reservoir Co.; New Cache La Poudre Irrigating Co.; North Poudre Irrigation Co.; Ogilvy Irrigating & Land Co.; Paul Lind & Sons; Wanda Lee Rankin; Riverside Irrigation District; Riverside Reservoir & Land Co.; St. Vrain & Left Hand Water Conservancy District; Thompson Water Users Assoc.; Water Supply and Storage Co.; Western Sugar Co.; and Windsor Reservoir Co., Objectors-Appellees, and Alan Berryman, Division Engineer, Water Division No. 1, Appelleepursuant to C.A.R. 1(e), and Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District; Keith Amen; Warren & Viola Amen; J.W. and Bessy L. Hutcheson; Dwain & Vera Yetter, Colorado Division Engineer, Water Division 1 and State Engineer (by motion to intervene); Public Service Company of Colorado; Eastman Kodak Company--Colorado Division; City of Fort Collins; and Platte River Power Authority, Objectors-Appellees/Cross-Appellants.

No. 94SA66.

Supreme Court of Colorado, En Banc.

Oct. 15, 1996.

Page 16

White & Jankowski, Michael D. White, David F. Jankowski, Scotty P. Krob, Joseph B. Dischinger, David C. Taussig, Thomas J. Davidson, Austin C. Hamre, Denver, for Applicant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee the City of Thornton.

Epperson, McClary, Zorn & McClary, Donald F. McClary, Fort Morgan, for Objectors-AppelleesBijou Irrigation Co., Bijou Irrigation District, and the Irrigationists Assoc.

Lind, Lawrence & Ottenhoff, Kim R. Lawrence, Greeley, for Objector-Appellee the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, and the Ground Water Management Subdistrict of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District.

Fischer, Brown, Huddleson & Gunn, P.C., William H. Brown, Ward H. Fischer, William R. Fischer, Fort Collins, for Objectors-AppelleesCache La Poudre Water Users Assoc., and the Water Supply and Storage Co.

Page 17

Sommermeyer, Wick, Dow & Campbell, Timothy J. Dow, Fort Collins, for Objectors-AppelleesLarimer & Weld Irrigation Co., Larimer & Weld Reservoir Co., and Winds or Reservoir Co.

Trout & Raley, P.C., Robert V. Trout, Jennifer Russell, Denver, for Objectors-Appellees/Cross-Appellants Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Keith Amen, Warren and Viola Amen, J.W. and Bessy L. Hutcheson, and Dwain and Vera Yetter.

Gale A. Norton, Attorney General, Stephen K. ErkenBrack, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Timothy M. Tymkovich, Solicitor General, Patricia S. Bangert, Deputy Attorney General, Jennifer L. Gimbel, First Assistant Attorney General, Steven O. Sims, Assistant Attorney General, Natural Resources Section, Denver, for Objectors-Appellees/Cross-Appellants Colorado Division Engineer, Water Division 1, and State Engineer.

Gorsuch Kirgis L.L.C., Brian M. Nazarenus, Denver, for Objector-Appellee/Cross-AppellantPublic Service Company of Colorado.

Vranesh and Raisch, LLC, Jerry W. Raisch, Michael D. Shimmin, Douglas A. Goulding, Thomas Morris, Boulder, for Objectors-Appellees/Cross-AppellantsEastman Kodak Company--Colorado Division, and City of Fort Collins.

Moses, Wittemyer, Harrison and Woodruff, P.C., John Wittemyer, Christopher G. Wittemyer, Boulder, for Objector-Appellee/Cross-Appellant Platte River Power Authority.

Patricia L. Wells, Michael L. Walker, Henry C. Teigen, Casey S. Funk, Mary B. Rastall, Denver, for Amicus Curiae the City and County of Denver, acting by and through its Board of Water Commissioners(also designated as an Objector-Appellee).

David C. Hallford, Glenwood Springs, for Amicus Curiae Colorado River Water Conservation District.

Anderson, Gianunzio, Dude, Pifher & Lebel, P.C., Mark T. Pifher, Colorado Springs, for Amicus Curiae Twin Lakes Reservoir and Canal Company.

No appearance for the following Objectors-Appellees: Andrew Blase; Vivien Akin; Burlington Ditch, Land & Reservoir Co.; City of Arvada; City of Aurora; City of Brighton; City of Broomfield; City of Englewood; City of Greeley;Consolidated Ditches of DistrictNo. 2;Colorado Division of Wildlife; Harold Deane; Delta Irrigation Co.; Excalibur Resources Co.; Farmers Reservoir & Irrigation Co.; Fort Morgan Irrigation & Reservoir Co.; Henrylyn Irrigation District; Jackson Lake Reservoir & Irrigation Co.; Jackson Ditch Co.; New Cache La Poudre Irrigating Co.; North Poudre Irrigation Co.; Ogilvy Irrigating & Land Co.; Paul Lind & Sons; Wanda Lee Rankin; Riverside Irrigation District; Riverside Reservoir & Land Co.; St. Vrain & Left Hand Water Conservancy District; Thompson Water Users Assoc.; and Western Sugar Co.

Justice LOHRdelivered the Opinion of the Court.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                           page
                  I. Facts and Procedural History                                            19
                     A. Facts                                                                19
                     B. Procedural History                                                   21
                 II.  Adequacy of Notice                                                      23
                     A. Standing                                                             23
                     B. Statutory and Case Law Standards                                     24
                         1. Statutes                                                         24
                         2. Case Law--General Standards                                      24
                     C. Notice--Storage Rights                                               25
                     D. Notice--Refill Rights                                                27
                     E. Notice--Designation of Replacement Waters                            28
                     F. Notice--Transmountain Water Rights                                   29
                III.  Conditional Water Rights                                                31
                                                                                           page
                     A. Introduction                                                         31
                     B. Overt Acts and Priority/Appropriation Date                           31
                         1. Elements of Overt Acts; Trial Court Ruling                       31
                         2. Adequacy of Overt Acts to Give Notice--General Standards         33
                         3. Adequacy of Thornton's Acts to Give Notice                       34
                            a. Signs                                                         34
                            b. Surveys                                                       35
                            c. Formal Acts                                                   35
                     C. Intent and Anti"Speculation                                          36
                         1. Overview of Anti"Speculation Doctrine                            37
                         2. Review of Trial Court's Ruling on Intent and Anti"Speculation    40
                     D. Can and Will Doctrine                                                42
                         1. Can and Will--Standard                                           42
                         2. Review of Trial Court's Ruling on Can and Will                   43
                            a. Contingencies                                                 43
                            b. Conformity between Decreed Flow Rates and Capacities of       45
                                 Diversion Structures
                 IV.  Terms and Conditions of Decree                                          46
                     A. Volumetric Limits and Reality Checks                                 46
                         1. Volumetric Limits                                                46
                         2. Reality Checks                                                   49
                            a. Volumetric Yield                                              50
                            b. Use or Disposition of Existing Water Rights                   52
                     B. Use of Colorado"Big Thompson Water                                   53
                         1. Overview of Colorado"Big Thompson Project                        53
                         2. Thornton's Proposed Primary Uses and Trial Court's Ruling        54
                         3. Review of Trial Court's Ruling                                   55
                            a. Consistency with Governing Contracts, Statutes, and Rules     55
                                   i. Water Conservancy Act and Repayment Contract          56
                                  ii.  NCWD Rules and Allotment Contract                     58
                                 iii.  Conclusion                                            59
                            b. Consistency with Colorado Water Policy and Statutory Law      59
                                   i. Contract Provisions                                   60
                                  ii.  NCWD Rules                                            60
                         4. Thornton's Proposed Use of CBT Seepage Water                     61
                     C. Reuse of Transmountain Water                                         62
                         1. Historical Use and Thornton's Reuse Plan                         62
                         2. Trial Court Ruling                                               63
                         3. Development of Law of Reuse                                      65
                            a. Native Water                                                  65
                            b. Foreign Water                                                 66
                         4. Characteristics of Right to Reuse Foreign Water                  68
                            a. Intent to Reuse                                               68
                            b.

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