Summary of technical testimony in the Colorado Water Division 1 trial

Abstract

The Colorado Water Division 1 Water Rights Trial was one of the most significant federal reserved instream flow water rights cases to occur since the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case of United States v. New Mexico in 1978. This document summarize the large amount of technical data and information pertaining to the disciplines of geomorphology, hydrology, and sediment transport mechanics compiled and presented to the judge during the Water Division 1 trial. The summary discusses channel formation and maintenance as viewed by scientists with differing opinions and allows readers to form their own judgment about the technical merits or validity of these differing viewpoints.