In early April, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law presented a two-day Water Law Symposium celebrating the 50-year anniversary of Colorado’s Water Rights Determination and Administration Act (often referred to as “1969 Act”). The 1969 Act formed the basis for allowing augmentation plans and out-of-priority water use if injury could be prevented, recognized the connection between groundwater and surface water resources, and created the seven water divisions each to have a water court, division engineer, and water referee.

Our vice president Cristy Radabaugh and former president Joe Tom Wood (retired) were honored to speak at the symposium. They were part of a panel that discussed how the science and engineering changed from 1969 to 2019 regarding surface water and groundwater hydrology and the related impacts on water cases and water users. In particular, Joe Tom Wood discussed surface water engineering and Cristy Radabaugh presented on accounting and data reporting. The related paper will be published in DU’s Water Law Review Volume 22 Issue 2 later this year.