Decree
The court order that confirms a water right's attributes — amount, source, use, point of diversion and priority date.
A decree is the authoritative statement of a right in states that adjudicate through the courts, Colorado most prominently. It fixes the attributes the right can be exercised under, and any later change requires going back to the court.
In diligence, the decree is the document that governs. Agency databases and broker summaries derive from it and can drift from it, which is why identifiers that tie a record back to the decreed structure matter so much.
Where this shows up in the data
Who this matters to
See also
More in Water law
Stop reading definitions. Look at the data.
2.1M+ water rights, 26 layers and 17 states. Free to start.
Create a free account