Surface water and groundwater rights engineering are highly specialized fields that combine engineering, hydrology, hydrogeology, and geochemistry skills with legal aspects of Colorado water law and public policy.
HRS Leads the Way
HRS continues to be a leader in the field of water rights engineering by maintaining state-of-the-art technical expertise, utilizing the most modern computer analytical tools, and through active involvement in public policy formulation and legislative activity. We create and maintain good working relationships with water rights attorneys, regulatory personnel, and other water professionals, and continually monitor the progress of Water Court cases.
The objectives of typical water rights engineering projects may include:
- Historic consumptive use analysis
- Change of use
- Transfers
- Quantification of ground water appropriation volumes
- Quantification of lawn irrigation return flows
- Analysis of stream depletion from well pumping
- Designated Basin permitting work
- General water rights research
- Evaluation of water rights applications and decrees
- Evaluation of other firms’ engineering studies
- Assessing the potential for injury to senior water rights
- Augmentation plans to allow diversion by junior water rights
- Negotiations and client advisement
- Expert testimony in courts of law
We always strive to protect our client’s water rights through negotiation and settlement, thus foregoing the high cost of litigation whenever possible. However, when the stakes are high and conflict is unavoidable, HRS is qualified and experienced in presenting objective expert witness testimony.