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

Summary

The court held that an applicant seeking to change an absolute water right may base its historical consumptive use analysis only on acreage lawfully irrigated under the applicable decree. Because the governing decree authorized irrigation only on the original acreage, the applicants could not rely on acreage identified in a vacated prior decree. The court also rejected issue preclusion because no prior decree had actually and necessarily determined the relevant historical consumptive use issue, affirmed the water court, and remanded for further proceedings.