DATE FILED: September 2, 2010 11:24 AM
CASE NUMBER: 2009CW145

DISTRICT COURT, WATER DIVISION NO. 5,
COLORADO
Garfield County Courthouse
109 8th Street, Suite 104
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
970/945-5075

COURT USE ONLY

CONCERNING THE APPLICATION FOR FINDING
OF REASONABLE DILIGENCE OF THE CITY OF
ASPEN

Case Number: Case Number:
09CW145(CA5884, W-791, W791-77, 81CW063, 85CW045,
89CW030, 95CW187, 02CW19)

in PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO

Water Division No. 5

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, AND RULING OF THE REFEREE
AND DECREE OF THE COURT

The above-captioned application was filed with the Water Court on September 30, 2009,
and referred to the Water Referee for Water Division No. 5, State of Colorado by the Water
Judge of said Court in accordance with Article 92, Chapter 37, of the Colorado Revised Statutes
known as the Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969.
The Referee having reviewed the pleadings of the parties, the Report of the Division
Engineer Summary of Consultation dated December 18, 2009, and additional evidence has been
obtained where such evidence was necessary to determine whether or not the statements in the
application are true, and having become fully advised with respect to the subject matter of the
application hereby finds:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Applicant: The applicant is the City of Aspen, c/o Phil Overeynder, Utilities Director,
130 South Galena Street, Aspen, CO 81611, telephone, (970) 920-5110.
2. Notice and Jurisdiction. All notices of the application were given in the manner required
by law, and the Application was published in the September, 2009 Resume for Water
Division 5. The Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this proceeding and over
all persons and property affected hereby, irrespective of whether those persons or
property owners have appeared. None of the lands or water rights involved in this case is
within the boundaries of any designated groundwater basin.
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 3. Opposition and Stipulation. A timely Statement of Opposition was filed on behalf of
Mark and Karen Hedstrom. The time for filing Statements of Opposition has now
expired. Applicant entered into a stipulation with Mark and Karen Hedstrom on May 3,
2010. The Court approved this stipulation by Order dated May 3, 2010. Said stipulation
is incorporated herein by reference.
4. Names of structures: Maroon Creek Reservoir and Castle Creek Reservoir.
5. Original Decrees for Conditional Water Rights: The water rights were originally decreed
on November 5, 1971 in Case No. CA 5884, Water Division No. 5.
6. Subsequent Decrees Awarding Diligence. Diligence was awarded in Case No. W-791
(March 15, 1973); W-791-77 (November 7, 1977); 81CW063 (October 29, 1982);
85CW045 (July 17, 1985); 89CW030 (August 29, 1989), 95CW187 (January 4, 1996),
02CW19 (September 3, 2003).
7. Location of Conditional Water Rights: the water rights are located as follows:
a. Castle Creek Reservoir: The Castle Creek Reservoir is located in Sections 18 and
19, Township 11 South, Range 84 West of the 6th P.M., Pitkin County, Colorado.
The initial point of survey of the high water line of the reservoir on the east side
of the dam is located such that the angle from the axis of the dam measured
clockwise is 66° 25' to Highland Peak and 340° 51' to Hayden Peak. (Ties to
mountain peaks were used since the reservoir lies within an area not surveyed by
local, state or federal agencies.)
i. This legal description is further modified by stipulation between the
Applicant and Mark and Karen Hedstrom executed on May 3, 2010 to
specifically exclude that certain parcel of land described as Lot 1, Part of
Subdivision H.E.S. 305, according to the Plat thereof recorded January 22,
1980 in Plat Book 8 at Page 77, County of Pitkin, State of Colorado.
b. Maroon Creek Reservoir: The Maroon Creek Reservoir is located in Sections 7
and 8, Township 11 South, Range 85 West of the 6th P.M., Pitkin County,
Colorado. The initial point of survey of the high water line of the reservoir on the
west side of the dam is located such that the angle from the axis of the dam
measured clockwise is 86° 57' to Pyramid Peak and 105° 56' to North Maroon
Peak. (Ties to mountain peaks were used since the reservoir lies within an area
not surveyed by local, state or federal agencies.)
c. A USGS map showing the locations of the reservoirs is attached as Exhibit A.
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 8. Source. Castle Creek Reservoir is tributary to Castle Creek, tributary to the Roaring Fork
River, and Maroon Creek Reservoir is tributary to Maroon Creek, tributary to the Roaring
Fork River.
9. Appropriation Date and Amounts. The appropriation date for both reservoirs is July 19,
1965. The amount appropriated for the Castle Creek Reservoir is 9,062 acre-feet, and the
amount appropriated for the Maroon Creek Reservoir is 4,567 acre-feet.
10. Decreed Uses. The water rights are decreed for industrial, irrigation, domestic, municipal,
and other beneficial uses, both consumptive and nonconsumptive. A topographic map
showing the current service boundaries for the City of Aspen for all the intended uses and
which identifies the Sections, Township and Range, is attached as Exhibit B.
11. Finding of Diligence. The Application requests a finding that the Applicants have
exercised reasonable diligence in the development of the conditional water rights
awarded to the Castle Creek Reservoir and Maroon Creek Reservoir. The Referee finds
that the work and expenditures described in the Application constitute reasonable
diligence in the development of the conditional portions of the subject water right and the
Application should be granted and the conditional decree continued in full force and
effect.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
12. The foregoing Findings of Fact are incorporated herein to the extent they constitute
conclusions of law.
13. The Application filed herein is complete, covering all applicable matters required under
C.R.S. § 37-92-302.
14. All notice required by law has been given, and no further notice need be given. C.R.S. §§
37-92-101, et seq.
15. This Court has jurisdiction of this matter and of all persons, whether they have appeared
or not. C.R.S. §§ 37-92-301(2) and –303(1).
16. The Application is in accordance with Colorado Law and should be granted.
RULING OF THE REFEREE AND DECREE OF THE WATER COURT
17. The Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law as set forth above are incorporated herein
by reference and are hereby modified as necessary to constitute part of the Ruling and
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 Final Judgment and Decree
.
18. The Referee concludes that the Applicant has shown reasonable diligence in the
development of the conditional water rights awarded to the Castle Creek Reservoir and
Maroon Creek Reservoir and hereby continues these water rights for another six years.
19. It is hereby ordered that the conditional decree for the water rights herein described are
continued in full force and effect until_______________, 2016 and the month for filing
an Application for a Finding of Reasonable Diligence shall be _____________, 2016,
unless a showing is made on or before such date that one or more of the conditional water
rights has become absolute by reason of completion of the appropriation.
20. Pursuant to Rule 9 of the Uniform Local Rules for All State Water Court Divisions, upon
the sale or other transfer of the conditional water rights decreed herein, the transferee
shall file with the Division 5 Water Court a notice of transfer which shall state:
a. The title and case number of this Case No. 09CW145;
b.The description of the conditional water right transferred;
c. The name of the transferor;
d.The name and mailing address of the transferee; and
e. A copy of the recorded deed.
The owner of said conditional water rights shall also notify the Clerk of the Division 5
Water Court of any change in mailing address. The Clerk shall place any notice of
transfer or change of address in the case file of this Case No. 09CW145 and in the case
file (if any) in which the Court first made a finding of reasonable diligence.
21. It is ordered that a copy of this Ruling shall be filed with the Water Clerk subject
to
judicial review, and that a copy of the Ruling shall also be filed with the Division
Engineer, Water Division No. 5, and with the State Engineer.

Dated___________________
______________________________
Water Referee, Water Division 5
State of Colorado
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 THE COURT FINDS THAT NO PROTEST WAS FILED IN THIS MATTER. THE
FOREGOING RULING IS CONFIRMED AND APPROVED, AND IS HEREBY MADE
THE JUDGMENT AND DECREE OF THIS COURT.
Dated__________________
______________________________
James B. Boyd, Water Judge
Water Division No. 5
State of Colorado

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