Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District, Applicant-Appellant v. Dequine Family L.L.C.; Flying Diamond Resources…

Summary

The court affirmed dismissal of the District’s application for a conditional water right because the District did not prove a legally cognizable need for the additional water. Existing contractual commitments, including contracts for water not yet put to beneficial use and lacking a specific beneficial-use plan, were insufficient without proof of a specific plan or substantiated projected population-based needs. The court declined to decide whether direct-flow and storage rights could be combined in one application because the District’s proof failed under either characterization.