Are you one of the fortunate residents with a river or stream running through or next to your property? That means that you won’t have to worry about water for your garden, right? Wrong! Water is serious business here in the West for the last 150 years.

Colorado water law is complex. In fact, it has its own law enforcement and court system. Current western water laws originated in California’s Gold Rush in 1848. Miners could divert water from rivers and streams to mine for gold and “claimed...