A water right is a property right which has 4 parts:

1. A fixed quantity: measured in cubic feet per second (cfs).
2. A priority date: the date when work began to divert the water.
3. A "beneficial use": water must be applied, and not wasted. Use must be continuous.
4. A diversion point: the place where water is taken from a particular stream.

Right: This postcard was sent to George Chase, president of the Howard Ditch, in 1882, to confirm the ditch's water right, following the appropriation hearings held in Boulder the previous winter. Courtesy Howard Ditch Company.