l)efore June 1, 1881. Since that date any party interested in any 

 ditch, canal, or reservoir may apply for an adjudication of the rifjhts 

 to the source fi'om which the water is taken. Upon the receipt of 

 such application the court proceeds to an adjudication, usually 

 appointino; a referee to take testimony and fonnulate a decree defining 

 the rights. The decree is based on the testimony presented by the 

 claimants, as a rule, but in some cases the courts have employed engi- 

 neers to measure the capacities of the ditches. Notices of the hearings 

 are given bv publication and by personal service on all parties having 

 claims on file. Each part}^ may call such witnesses as he chooses, but 

 must pay their fees. 



After hearing all testimony or on receiving the report of the referee, 

 if one has been appointed, the court enters a decree "determining and 

 establishing the several priorities of right, by appropriation of water, 

 of the several ditches, canals, and reservoirs in such district, concern- 

 ing which testimony shall have been oifered, each according to the 

 time of its construction and enlargement or enlargements or extensions, 

 with the amount of water which shall l)c held to have been appropriated 

 by such construction and enlargements or extensions, describing such 

 amount by cubic feet per second of time, if the evidence shall show 

 suflicient data to ascertain such cubic feet, and if not, by width, depth, 

 and grade, and such other description as will most certainly and con- 

 veniently show the amount of water intended as the capacitj^ of such 

 ditch, canal, or reservoir in such decree." 



The clerk of the court issues to the claimant a certificate of his rights 

 as defined by the court, upon the paATiient of a reasonable fee, and 

 these certificates are recorded by the county recorder upon payment of 

 the customary fees. Appeal may be taken to the supreme court of the 

 State at any time within four years, or any party ma}^ ask for a rehear- 

 ing in the district court at any time within two years; but after four 

 years from the entering of a decree ' ' all parties whose interests are 

 thereby affected shall be deemed and held to have acquiesced in the 

 same, except in case of suits before then brought, and thereafter all 

 persons shall be forever barred from setting up any claim to priority of 

 rights to water for irrigation in such water district adverse or contrary 

 to the effect of such decree." 



Any party acquiring a right after the rights in any district have 

 been decreed may have his rights defined by applying to the court 

 which entered the original decree, the procedure being the same as 

 for an original adjudication. 



Most of the rights in Colorado, have been defined under this special 

 form of procedure, but there is continuously arising litigation to settle 

 points which had not arisen at the time the decrees were rendered. 



