Conservancy Law - Flood Control

C.R.S. tit. 37, art. 1
in effect

C.R.S. § 37-1-101 Short title

37-1-101. Short title. Articles 1 to 8 of this title shall be known and may be cited as the "Conservancy Law of Colorado".

C.R.S. § 37-1-102 Definitions

37-1-102. Definitions. As used in articles 1 to 8 of this title, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Conservancy district" means the districts created under articles 1 to 8 of this title; and the bonds which may be issued under articles 1 to 8 of this title may be called "conservancy bonds", and such designation may be engraved or printed on their face. (2) "Court" means the district court of that judicial district of the state of Colorado wherein the petition for the organization of a conservancy district shall be filed. (3) (a) "Land" or "property" means real estate, as "real estate" is defined by the laws of the state of Colorado, and shall embrace all railroads, tramroads, electric railroads, street and interurban railroads, highways, roads, streets and street improvements, telephone, telegraph, and transmission lines, gas, sewer, and water systems, water rights, pipelines, and rights-of-way of public service corporations, and all other real property whether held for public or private use. (b) When "land" or "property" is used, with reference to benefits, appraisals, assessments, or taxes, public corporations, as political entities, according to benefits received, shall be considered as included in such reference, in the same manner as "land" or "property". (4) "Person" means a person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation, other than a county, town, city, or other political subdivision. Similarly, "public corporation" means counties, towns, cities, school districts, drainage districts, irrigation districts, water districts, park districts, and all governmental agencies clothed with the power of levying or providing for the levy of general or special taxes or special assessments. (5) "Publication" means printing once a week for three consecutive weeks in at least one newspaper of general circulation in each county wherein such publication is to be made. It shall not be necessary that publication shall be made on the same day of the week in each of the three weeks, but not less than fourteen days (excluding the day of the first publication) shall intervene between the first publication and the last publication, and publication shall be complete on the date of the last publication.

C.R.S. § 37-1-103 Liberal construction

37-1-103. Liberal construction. Articles 1 to 8 of this title, being necessary to secure and preserve the public health, safety, convenience, and welfare, and being necessary for the prevention of great loss of life and for the security of public and private property from floods and other uncontrolled waters, shall be liberally construed to effect the purposes of said articles.

C.R.S. § 37-1-104 Removal of officials for cause

37-1-104. Removal of officials for cause. Any director or other officer of any district organized under articles 1 to 8 of this title may be removed for cause after a hearing upon a motion filed by any interested person in the original proceeding in which the district was organized.

C.R.S. § 37-1-105 Remedy by mandamus

37-1-105. Remedy by mandamus. The performance of all duties prescribed in articles 1 to 8 of this title concerning the organization and administration or operation of a conservancy district may be enforced against any officer thereof or against any person or corporation refusing to comply with any order of the board of directors, by mandamus, at the instance of the board or of any person or corporation interested in any way in such district or proposed district. Such proceedings shall be instituted in the district court having jurisdiction of the original case.

C.R.S. § 37-1-106 Early hearings

37-1-106. Early hearings. All cases in which there may arise a question of the validity of the organization of a conservancy district, or a question of the validity of any proceeding under articles 1 to 8 of this title, shall be advanced as a matter of immediate public interest and concern and heard in all courts at the earliest practicable moment. The courts shall be open at all times for the purposes of said articles.

C.R.S. § 37-1-107 Correction of faulty notices

37-1-107. Correction of faulty notices. (1) In every case where a notice is provided for in articles 1 to 8 of this title, if the court finds for any reason that due notice was not given, the court shall not thereby lose jurisdiction, and the proceeding in question shall not thereby be void or be abated, but the court shall in that case order due notice to be given, and shall continue the hearing until such time as notice shall be properly given, and thereupon shall proceed as though notice had been properly given in the first instance. (2) In case any particular appraisal, assessment, or levy is held void for want of legal notice, or in case the board of directors determines that any notice with reference to any land may be faulty, then the board of directors may file a motion in the original cause asking that the court order notice to be given to the owner of such land, and the court shall set a time for hearing as provided in articles 1 to 8 of this title. If the original notice as a whole is held to be sufficient but faulty only with reference to publication as to particular lands, only the owners of and persons interested in such particular lands need be notified by such subsequent notice, and if the publication of any notice in any county is held to be defective or not made in time, publication of the defective notice need be had only in the county in which the defect occurred.

C.R.S. § 37-1-108 Short forms and abbreviations

37-1-108. Short forms and abbreviations. (1) In any order of court the words "The court now here finds that it hath jurisdiction of the parties to and of the subject matter of this proceeding", shall be equivalent to a finding of the existence of each jurisdictional fact necessary to confer plenary jurisdiction upon the court and necessary from the proper signing and filing of the initial petitions to the date of the order, to meet every legal requirement imposed by articles 1 to 8 of this title. (2) No other evidence of the legal hypothecation of the proceeds of any special assessment levied under said articles, to pay the bonds or warrants issued pursuant to articles 1 to 8 of this title, shall be required than the passage of a resolution by the board of directors and the issuance of bonds or warrants in accordance therewith. (3) In the preparation of any assessment or appraisal record the usual abbreviations employed by engineers, surveyors, and abstractors may be used. (4) Where it would be necessary to use a long description to properly describe any parcel of land, the appraisers, after locating the land generally, may refer to the book and page of the public record of any instrument in which the land is described, which reference shall be sufficient for all the purposes of articles 1 to 8 of this title to identify the land described in the public record so referred to. (5) It shall not be necessary in any notice required to be published by articles 1 to 8 of this title to specify the names of the owners of the lands or of the persons interested therein; but any such notice may be addressed "To all persons interested" with like effect as though such notice named every owner of any lands within the territory specified in the notice and every person interested therein and every lienor, actual or inchoate. (6) Every district declared upon hearing to be a conservancy district shall thereupon become a political subdivision and a public corporation of the state of Colorado invested with all the powers and privileges conferred upon such districts by articles 1 to 8 of this title.

C.R.S. § 37-1-109 Repeal - saving clause

37-1-109. Repeal - saving clause. All laws or parts of laws conflicting in any way with any of the provisions of articles 1 to 8 of this title, in regard to improvements of the character contemplated by said articles, or regulating or limiting the power of taxation or assessment, or otherwise interfering with the execution of articles 1 to 8 of this title according to their terms, are declared inoperative and ineffective as to said articles, as completely as if they did not exist. But all such laws and parts of laws shall not be otherwise affected by said articles.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-37.docxFetched: 10/6/2026