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Show COLORADO 165 tion thereof is joined with an intention to initiate an appropriation.104 An appropriator of a conditional right must show reasonable prog- ress in completion of his project and in seeking to have his claim allowed. Showings of reasonable diligence are made by filing appli- cations for findings thereof with the water clerk not later than June 1 of each even-numbered year.105 When perfected, a conditional right obtains the same priority it would have received had the original proceedings in which the conditional decree was entered remained open until the final determination of the right.106 c. Rights-op-Way In Colorado, any person owning a water right is entitled to a right-of-way through the lands which lie between the point of di- version and the point of use for the purpose of transporting water for beneficial use. m The power of eminent domain is conferred on water rights owners for the purpose of acquiring such a right-of- way 108 but no occupied land can be subjected to the burden of more than one ditch or other structure without the landowner's consent and the shortest and most direct route practicable must be selected.109 3.2 Nature and Limit of Bights Ownership of unappropriated water in natural streams is in the public, subject to appropriation.110 The appropriative right is a right of possession and use of water, rather than of ownership of the cor- pus. It is usually characterized as an interest in real property-a usufruct.111 As such, it is a vested property right, protected by the Constitution,112 until lost by abandonment.113 It is alienable and transferable, either as an appurtenance to land, or if severed from the land, separately and independently therefrom.114 a. Measure op the Appropriattve Right The concept of beneficial use not only prescribes the types of uses for which water may be diverted,115 but also is the basis for determ- ining or measuring the water right. No one may divert more water than he reasonably needs for his intended beneficial use.116 This amount may vary, of course, depending on the nature, place, and time of use,117 and different duties of water may be established for different water rights depending on the circumstances of each case.118 w>* Elk-Rifle Water Co. v. Templeton, 484 P. 2d 1211 (Colo. 1971) ; Four Counties Water Users Association v. Colorado River Water Cons'n Dist., 161 Colo. 416, 425 P. 2d 259 (1967). w» Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann., sec. 148-21-44 (supp. 1971). w»Id. 107 Colo. Const., art. II, seec. 14, Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann., sec. 148-3-1 (supp. 1969). los Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann., sec. 148-3-3 (supp. 1969). i<» Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann., sec. 148-3-5 (supp. 1969). no Colo. Const., art. XVI, sec 5. mfert End Irr. Co. v. Qarvey, 117 Colo. 109, 184 P. 2d 476 (1947) ; Coffin v. Left Hand Ditch Co., 6 Colo. 443 (1882). u^Town of Sterling v. Pawnee Ditch Ext. Co., 42 Colo. 421, 94 Pac. 339 (1908). 113Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann., sec. 148-21-3(13) (Supp. 1969). ii* James v. Barker, 99 Colo. 551, 64 P. 2d 598 (1937). uB See notes 5-9, p. 14. no Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann., sec. 148-21-3(7) (supp. 1969); see, e.g., Denver v. Sheriff, 105 Colo. 103, 96 P. 2d 836 (1939). u*See Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann., sec. 148-21-17(2) (supp. 1969). us Farmers Highline Canal & Res. Co. v. Golden, 129 Colo. 575, 272 P. 2d 629 (1954). |