Colorado Revised Statutes Title 7. Corporations and Associations § 7-42-101.5. Acequia ditch corporation--definition--powers

(a) Originated prior to Colorado's statehood;

(b) Has historically treated water diverted by the acequia as a community resource and has therefore attempted to allocate water in the acequia based upon equity in addition to priority;

(c) Relies essentially on gravity-fed surface water diversions;

(d) Repealed by Laws 2013, Ch. 87, § 1, eff. Aug. 7, 2013.

(e) Has historically been operated pursuant to a one landowner-one vote system; and

(f) Has historically relied on labor supplied by the owners of irrigated land served by the acequia.

(a) Repealed by Laws 2013, Ch. 87, § 1, eff. Aug. 7, 2013.

(b) Surface water rights provide all of the water rights used for irrigation in the ditch, and such water rights have had substantially uninterrupted use since before Colorado's statehood;

(c) The irrigated land served by the ditch is located wholly in one or more of the counties of Costilla, Conejos, Huerfano, and Las Animas; and

(d) Either:

(a) Its elections may be held pursuant to a one landowner-one vote system;

(b) Owners of land irrigated by the ditch can be required to contribute labor to the maintenance and repair of the acequia or, in the alternative, to pay an assessment in lieu of such labor;

(c) Water in the ditch may be allocated on a basis other than pro rata ownership of the corporation; and

(d) The corporation or association has a right of first refusal regarding the sale, lease, or exchange of any surface water right that has historically been used to irrigate land by the acequia.