State of Wyoming v. State of Colorado
Headline: Court limits defendants to 15,500 acre-feet from the Laramie River, preserves existing Colorado and Wyoming water rights for named ditches, and assigns lawsuit costs among the states and corporate defendants.
Holding:
- Stops defendants from diverting more than 15,500 acre-feet per year from the Laramie River.
- Confirms Colorado’s rights to specific ditches totaling 18,000 and 4,250 acre-feet.
- Splits lawsuit costs: Wyoming one-third, Colorado one-third, corporate defendants one-third.
Summary
Background
A dispute involved the State of Wyoming, the State of Colorado, and two corporate defendants over who may divert water from the Laramie River and its tributaries in Colorado. A prior decree entered June 5, 1922, governed those rights after evidence reported by appointed commissioners. The defendants sought a rehearing, and the Court reviewed the pleadings, the evidence, and the petition before issuing a modified decree.
Reasoning
The Court modified its earlier decree to enjoin the defendants, their officers, agents, and servants from diverting more than 15,500 acre-feet of water per year from the Laramie River through what the record calls the Laramie-Poudre Tunnel appropriation. At the same time, the Court preserved Colorado’s existing rights to divert 18,000 acre-feet via the Skyline Ditch, 4,250 acre-feet via the meadow-land appropriations named in the record, the small pre-1902 Wilson Supply Ditch appropriation from Deadman Creek, and any lawful diversions from Sand Creek by either State. The Court also allocated the litigation costs: one-third to Wyoming, one-third to Colorado, and one-third jointly to the two corporate defendants.
Real world impact
The modified decree limits how much water the named defendants may take through the specified tunnel each year while confirming specific, continuing diversion rights for Colorado and rights for Wyoming where noted. The clerk must transmit authenticated copies of this decree to the chief executives of Colorado and Wyoming. The petition for rehearing was denied, making these changes the Court’s action on the rehearing request.
Ask about this case
Ask questions about the entire case, including all opinions (majority, concurrences, dissents).
What was the Court's main decision and reasoning?
How did the dissenting opinions differ from the majority?
What are the practical implications of this ruling?