In any water adjudication under the provisions of article 9 of chapter 148, C.R.S. 1963, as amended, pending on August 12, 1971, in which any applicant files any statement of claim asking that his date of priority antedate any earlier decrees or adjudications, in order not to be forever barred the owners of affected rights must object and protest within the times and in the manner provided by the Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969; and the judge shall direct the clerk to publish once in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in the water division as set forth in said Act of 1969, within which the water district is incorporated, to provide, and which shall be, notice to all water users within the division. The language of such notice shall be substantially as follows: “There has been filed in this proceeding a claim or claims which may affect in priority any water right claimed or heretofore adjudicated within this division and owners of affected rights must appear to object and protest as provided in the Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969, or be forever barred.”
Rule 86.Pending Water Adjudications Under 1943 Act
Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified July 10, 2026
In one sentenceRule 86 sets out the notice-and-protest procedure Colorado used for water adjudications still pending under the 1943 Act as of August 12, 1971, requiring public notice and a chance to object whenever a late-filed claim sought a water-right priority date ahead of rights already decreed.
Full Text of Rule 86
Amendment History
The source reproduced here (current through June 1, 2026) records no amendment to this rule since its original adoption — no Credits line appears for it in the compiled rules. For the underlying adopting order and any later amendments, see the Colorado General Assembly.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 86 addresses a narrow slice of Colorado water law: adjudications already underway under the state's 1943 water adjudication statute and still pending as of August 12, 1971. If a claimant in one of those pending cases asked the court for a priority date that would move ahead of water rights already decreed or adjudicated, the rule required special handling so no one lost ground without warning.
Anyone who owned a water right that could be affected by such a claim had to file an objection or protest, following the timing and procedure set out in the Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969. To make sure affected owners learned about the claim, the presiding judge had to direct the clerk to publish notice once in a newspaper of general circulation in the water division. The rule prescribes the wording of that published notice, warning water users that a pending claim could affect the priority of rights already recognized in the division and that anyone who failed to object in time would be forever barred from doing so.
Because the rule reaches only adjudications pending on a specific date under a law Colorado has since replaced, it applies to a closed set of older cases rather than to water litigation filed under current procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rule 86 apply to water right cases filed today?
No. It only covers adjudications that were pending on August 12, 1971 under Colorado's earlier 1943 water adjudication law, so it has no bearing on water right applications filed under current procedure.
What triggered the special notice requirement in Rule 86?
The special notice applied whenever an applicant in one of those pending cases claimed a priority date that would come ahead of water rights already decreed or adjudicated in the water division, since that claim could displace existing rights in priority.
What happened if an affected water right owner missed the deadline to object?
The rule warns that owners who did not object and protest within the time and manner set by the Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969 would be forever barred from challenging the claimed priority.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure (Colo. R. Civ. P. 86). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Colorado (C.R.S. § 13-2-108; Colo. Const. art. VI). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 10, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: water courtwater rights adjudicationwater right priority date noticepending water adjudications under 1943 actwater division newspaper publication notice