Water in Colorado

Prior to the creation of the Territory of Colorado in 1861, few laws existed that pertained specifically to the issue of water rights in the area.

Alternating years of droughts and floods created havoc for land owners and rights holders down stream.

In 1922 Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce, brought representatives from the seven states to Washington, D.C. to negotiate an interstate treaty.

This commission, the brainchild of Delphus E. Carpenter, resulted in the Colorado River Compact.

The compact allocated water to each of the states, allowing agricultural irrigation, urban development, and large projects such as the Hoover Dam and Lake Powell.

Colorado is known as the "Headwaters State" because several of the West's most important rivers rise in its Rocky Mountains.

The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project brings water from the Fryingpan River Basin to the southeastern corner.