Matthew Lake Merrill

Water Rights Attorney

Water rights are critical to everything in Colorado. Our state is a beautiful place to live and work. Yet Colorado rivers are increasingly over-appropriated, and finding and transferring water for new uses can be challenging.

I have more than fifteen years’ experience helping clients resolve water rights issues. I listen carefully. I take time to understand each client’s business, their water rights and the stream system. I focus on resolving longstanding water issues outside of court through negotiated settlements or with the help of a mediator. And I have trial and appellate experience when litigation is necessary.

I develop customized, long-term and cost-effective water rights solutions to meet each client’s present and future needs while taking into account local water supplies and water rights administration.

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Colorado law administers water as a limited property right under our constitution and a combination of statutes and court decisions (stare decisis). Among the arid western states, Colorado has been a longtime leader in developing and refining the prior appropriation system. The first stream adjudications began well before 1900 and Colorado began administering surface and tributary groundwater conjunctively in 1969. While Colorado’s water law and water administration provide a reasonable degree of predictability in response to droughts, the system is far from perfect and water rights are often perceived by even knowledgeable water users as arcane and difficult to grasp.

Representation for all types of water users

Focus

I can help you understand the water laws that affect your farm, ranch, company, town or district in Colorado, and develop a plan to secure the legal rights to the water you need.