Concerning the Application for Water Rights of Widefield Water and Sanitation District and the City of Fountain in…

Summary

The court held that applicants seeking to change the use of a water right may base a historical consumptive use analysis only on acreage lawfully irrigated under the applicable decree. Because the original decree authorized irrigation of 350 acres and no valid later decree authorized the additional acreage, the applicants could not rely on their analysis of 462 acres. The court also rejected issue preclusion because the prior decrees had not actually and necessarily determined the relevant historical consumptive-use issue, affirmed the water court, and remanded for consistent proceedings.