There’s an old saying in the West: “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over.” It reflects how much water matters to people who live and work on the land. Water is important to a ranch every year, but in dry years like those we’ve recently experienced across the Mountain West, a dependable supply becomes even more valuable.
A creek crossing a Colorado ranch can make a striking first impression. So can a green hay meadow or a well beside the house. But what you see on a property tour does not, by itself, tell you which water you can use, when you can use it, or whether the equipment needed to deliver it is in working order.
If you are buying a Colorado ranch, start with a practical question: Will the property’s documented water supply support what I want to do here? The answer may differ depending on whether your plans include a home, livestock, irrigated hay, horses, or wildlife habitat.
Use this checklist to guide the conversation with your broker, water attorney, and other qualified specialists before closing.
1. Identify every water source
Ask the seller to list the ranch’s wells, springs, ditches, reservoirs, ponds, and any water delivered through a company or district. Mark each source and its related infrastructure on a property map.
Then separate water on the land from rights or permits to use water. A stream running through the ranch is a feature worth investigating; its presence alone does not answer what uses are authorized.
2. Confirm what will transfer with the purchase
Request a written description of the water rights, ditch shares, well permits, and related interests the seller intends to convey. Have the transaction documents reviewed to make sure that description matches the seller’s records and your understanding of the deal.
This matters especially when a ranch has changed hands, been divided, or had water interests sold separately. If a listing says a property has “water rights,” ask which specific rights it means.
3. Check whether the water supports your intended use
A water source that serves a home may not authorize irrigation or every proposed livestock use. For each well, obtain its permit file and check the allowable uses. For surface water, have a qualified professional review the applicable decrees and other records against your plans.
Write down your intended activities before that review. “I want water” is too broad to test. “I want to irrigate this meadow and water cattle in these pastures” gives your advisers a useful starting point.
4. Look at priority and actual delivery
Colorado administers water rights through a priority system often summarized as “first in time, first in right.” A documented right is therefore only part of the picture. Ask how reliably water has been available when the ranch needed it, particularly during dry periods.
Request available diversion and use records, then ask your advisers what those records show and what they cannot establish. If hay production is central to your purchase, focus on the water available during the growing season, not simply on how the meadow looks during one visit.
5. Inspect the system that moves the water
Water rights have limited practical value if a ditch cannot carry water to the field or a well and pump cannot meet the property’s needs. Walk the infrastructure with someone qualified to assess it. Depending on the ranch, that may include ditches, headgates, pumps, pipelines, storage, and irrigation equipment.
Ask who maintains shared facilities, how access for repairs works, and what expenses you should expect. Budget for the condition of the system you are buying, not an assumed future upgrade.
6. Resolve unanswered questions before closing
Bring the documents, your intended uses, and your inspection findings together. If a permit, right, share, or delivery arrangement remains unclear, identify exactly what must be verified and who is responsible for verifying it.
Colorado’s Division of Water Resources offers public tools for researching well permits, water rights, and diversion records. Those tools are a valuable starting point, but a complex ranch purchase deserves review by professionals who can interpret the records in the context of that property.
Find a ranch whose water fits your plans
Water can shape nearly every part of ranch ownership, from a home’s daily needs to hay production and habitat management. The goal of due diligence is to understand what the ranch can support before you commit to it.
Harrigan Land Company helps buyers evaluate ranches throughout the Rocky Mountain West. If you are comparing Colorado properties, explore our ranch listings and tell us how you plan to use the land. We can help you frame the right property-specific questions and assemble the specialists needed to answer them.
Frequently asked questions
Does a creek on a Colorado ranch mean I can use its water?
No assumption should be made from the creek’s presence alone. Have the property’s documented rights and your proposed uses reviewed before relying on that water.
Where can I look up a Colorado well permit?
Start with the Colorado Division of Water Resources well permitting page. Its search tools and permit files can help you identify a well’s recorded allowable uses.
What is the first water rights document I should request?
Ask for a complete written list of the water interests the seller proposes to convey, along with the supporting permits, decrees, and share documents that apply to the property. Your advisers can then check that list against the transaction documents and public records.
Harrigan Land Company has decades of experience selling ranches in Colorado with significant water resources. If you’re looking for representation when purchasing a Colorado ranch, we’d love the opportunity to talk with you. Please contact us anytime. Thank you!
