(a) The water clerk shall receive and file all applications and number them upon payment of filing fees. The water clerk shall not accept for filing any application that is not accompanied by the required filing fee. Each application filed within each division shall be consecutively numbered, preceded by the year and the letters CW (e.g. 2009CW100) to identify such applications as concerning water matters. The applicant for a finding of reasonable diligence relating to a conditional water right and/or to make a conditional water right absolute shall include in the application a listing of the original and any other prior case numbers pertaining to the conditional water right included in the application; thereafter, the assigned case number for the application shall appear on any document, pleading, or other item in the case. Referee rulings and water court judgments and decrees shall include all relevant prior case numbers.
Rule 90.Dispositions of Water Court Applications
Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified July 10, 2026
In one sentenceRule 90 governs how the water clerk dockets, publishes, and screens water court applications — case numbering, monthly resume publication, an inquiry-notice review before publication, a 60-day relation-back window for competing applications, and access to standard forms.
Full Text of Rule 90
(b) The water clerk shall include in the resume all applications filed during the preceding month that substantially contain the information required by Rule 3 of the Uniform Local Rules for All State Water Court Divisions and the standard forms approved by the water judges under C.R.S. § 37-92-302(2)(a), which together provide the information sufficient for publication to the public and potential parties. The water clerk, in consultation with the referee pursuant to Rule 6 of the Uniform Local Rules For All State Water Court Divisions, shall promptly refer to the water judge for consideration and disposition any application that does not substantially contain the information required by Rule 3 of the Uniform Local Rules For All State Water Court Divisions and the standard forms approved by the water judges under C.R.S. § 37-92-302(2)(a). Any such application shall not be published in the resume pending disposition by the water judge. The water clerk shall promptly inform the applicant that the application has been referred to the water judge and provide the applicant with a list of the required information that was not contained in the application.
(c) In determining whether or not to order publication of the application in the resume pursuant to C.R.S. § 37-92-302(3)(a), the water judge shall promptly review the application and shall employ an inquiry notice standard in conducting the review. Upon a finding that the application does not provide sufficient inquiry notice contemplated by Rule 3 of the Uniform Local Rules for All State Water Court Divisions and the standard forms approved by the water judges under C.R.S. § 37-92-302(2)(a) to justify publication, the water judge shall set a date pursuant to C.R.C.P. 41(b)(2) and C.R.C.P. 121, Section 1-10, by which date the application will be dismissed unless, prior to that date, a sufficient application is filed. The application will retain its original filing date unless and until the application is dismissed.
(d) For purposes of relation back of the filing date of a subsequent applicant's application for a water right or conditional water right pursuant to C.R.S. § 37-92-306.1, the subsequent application shall be filed within sixty days of the date the prior application is published in the resume.
(e) Upon request, the water clerk shall provide a prospective applicant or opposer with one copy of the form for the relevant application or statement of opposition. The standard forms for applications and statements of opposition may also be found in the “Water Courts” section of the Colorado Judicial Branch web page.
Amendment History
Amended effective February 19, 2009.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 90 lays out the administrative path a water court application follows from filing to publication. The water clerk must collect the filing fee before accepting an application, then assign each application a consecutive case number for that division, preceded by the year and the letters CW (for example, 2009CW100). An applicant seeking a finding of reasonable diligence on a conditional water right, or asking to make a conditional water right absolute, must list the original and any other prior case numbers tied to that right, and every later filing in the case must carry the assigned case number.
Each month, the clerk publishes in the resume every application that substantially contains the information required by the water court's uniform local rules and approved standard forms. An application that falls short is not published; instead the clerk refers it to the water judge, who reviews it using an inquiry notice standard, asking whether the application gives enough notice to justify publication. If it does not, the judge sets a deadline by which a sufficient application must be filed or the case will be dismissed, though the application keeps its original filing date unless and until it is dismissed.
Rule 90 also protects the filing-date priority of applicants who file close in time to one another: a subsequent applicant's filing date can relate back only if that application is filed within sixty days after the earlier application is published in the resume. The clerk must also give a prospective applicant or opposer a copy of the relevant application or opposition form on request.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are water court applications numbered under Rule 90?
Each application is consecutively numbered within its division, preceded by the year and the letters CW, for example 2009CW100, so the case number identifies both when it was filed and that it concerns a water matter.
What happens if a water court application is missing required information?
The water clerk withholds it from the monthly resume and refers it to the water judge, who reviews it under an inquiry notice standard and may set a deadline for a sufficient application before dismissing the case; the application keeps its original filing date unless it is dismissed.
How long does a later applicant have to claim relation back to an earlier filing?
A subsequent applicant must file within sixty days after the date the earlier application is published in the resume for that later filing date to relate back.
Can the water clerk accept an application without payment of the filing fee?
No. Rule 90 directs the clerk not to accept any application for filing unless it is accompanied by the required filing fee.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure (Colo. R. Civ. P. 90). 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 court application filingwater court resume publicationCW case number water courtreasonable diligence conditional water rightwater court application relation backwater rights