First Step Toward Appropriation Must Demonstrate Intent

A single act can constitute the first step toward appropriation of a certain amount of water, even if it did not include physical acts on the land, according to the Supreme Court of Colorado. Such a first step, the court said, must include an overt manifestation of that intent through physical acts sufficient to constitute notice to third parties. But the court emphasized that the absence of physical acts on the land should not result in automatic refusal of the application.