Where a decree or other determination with respect to a conditional water right was entered not earlier than June 7, 1971, and not later than June 6, 1973, the time during which the owner or user thereof must obtain a finding of reasonable diligence in the development of the proposed appropriation in order to maintain the conditional water right shall be extended by two years.
Rule 92.Conditional Water Rights—Extension of Time for Entry of Findings of Reasonable Diligence
Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified July 10, 2026
In one sentenceRule 92 gives owners of certain conditional water rights decreed between June 1971 and June 1973 a one-time two-year extension on the deadline to prove reasonable diligence, preserving their priority date despite the tight timeline set by Colorado's original water rights law.
Full Text of Rule 92
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
Colorado's water rights system requires the owner of a conditional water right to keep proving reasonable diligence toward finishing the appropriation, or the conditional right lapses. Rule 92 addresses a narrow slice of decrees: those entered between June 7, 1971 and June 6, 1973, right after the state's water rights statute created this ongoing diligence requirement. For those decrees, the rule pushes the diligence-finding deadline back by two years, giving affected owners breathing room during the transition to the new system.
The rule has never been repealed, so it remains part of the civil rules today, but it applies only to that narrow band of decrees from the early 1970s. Anyone holding a conditional water right decreed inside that window still gets the two-year cushion when calculating when a diligence finding is due.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rule 92 still affect water rights today?
Yes, in a narrow way. It has never been repealed, so it still applies to any conditional water right decreed between June 7, 1971 and June 6, 1973, extending that decree's reasonable-diligence deadline by two years.
Why does the rule single out that specific two-year window?
Colorado's water rights statute created the modern diligence-filing requirement, and decrees entered soon after it took effect faced compressed deadlines. Rule 92 gave owners of those early decrees extra time to adjust to the new schedule.
What happens if a conditional water right decree falls outside that window?
Rule 92 does not apply, and the diligence-filing deadlines set by the water rights statute and the decree itself control instead.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure (Colo. R. Civ. P. 92). 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: conditional water right diligence extensionwater court diligence deadline coloradoextension of time for water rights decreereasonable diligence finding deadline1971 to 1973 conditional water decree