Otero Ditch Co.
- Town
- Rocky Ford
- Basin
- Not specified
- Organized
- 1954
- Standing with the Colorado Secretary of State
- In good standing
- Colorado SOS entity ID
- 19871126730
- Principal office address on state record
- 917 Elm Ave, Rocky Ford, CO 81067
- Registered agent
- HILLARY ELIZABETH MERWIN
- Water source
- Arkansas River
- Earliest decreed right
- 1890 per Colorado DWR records
Sources: Colorado Secretary of State business records as of August 3, 2026 (standing, principal office address, registered agent, formation date, entity ID), and Colorado Department of Water Resources net-amount records as of August 11, 2026 for the water source and earliest decreed right, including rights recorded only as alternate-point/exchange (APEX) amounts (each links to the state's own record). Compiled by DitchBook from public records, not edited by the company — how this page is built and what it can't tell you.
Official public-record contact
Contact Otero Ditch Co.
- Contact
- Nicholas Knapp, President
- Phone
- 719-469-0510
- Mailing address
- PO Box 404, Rocky Ford, CO 81067
This contact appears in an official public record dated 2025; confirm the details before relying on it. Source checked August 15, 2026; source listing: OTERO DITCH COMPANY; sources: IRS Form 990EZ public filing — tax period 2024, object 202542589349201444. The company has not claimed or edited this page.
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Verified public water record
Water structure
| Structure | WDID | Type and source | DWR location | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otero Canal Ditch traced |
1700557 | Ditch Arkansas River |
Otero County · Division 2 · District 17 | View on map |
Published from DitchBook's verified company-to-WDID crosswalk as of August 20, 2026, using Colorado DWR structure records pulled August 11, 2026. Open a structure for its source fields, exact map status, company association, and official water-right citation. This table does not say that any particular parcel is served by, owns shares in, or is crossed by the structure.
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Ditch/canal alignment
- Ditch/canal alignment (USGS NHD, name-matched)
- Source river (USGS NHD, name-matched)
This company's verified ditch/canal alignment lies in Otero County, on Arkansas River. Irrigated parcels are not linked for this company, so no footprint is shown.
The solid line is this company's ditch/canal alignment — USGS National Hydrography Dataset (hydro.nationalmap.gov/arcgis/rest/services/nhd/MapServer/6), name-matched against DWR structure/company name and reviewed by DitchBook as of 2026-08-07 — mapping-grade, not a survey. Shown for 1 of 1 reviewed structure. The second solid line is Arkansas River, this company's published water source, matched the same way. This company has no state-mapped irrigated-parcel footprint on file, so none is shown here. Satellite imagery is available via the map's Satellite/Map toggle, courtesy of USDA/USGS (The National Map), public domain. Boundaries are the state's, drawn to locate the land, not to settle it. How this page is built.
DitchBook is not affiliated with Otero Ditch Co. This page is a public-record profile compiled from Colorado Secretary of State and public water-district data.
A mutual ditch or reservoir company is a nonprofit corporation formed under Colorado law — most commonly C.R.S. Title 7, Article 42 — so that landowners who share an irrigation ditch, canal, or reservoir can jointly own and operate it. Instead of the water right belonging to a single person, shares in the company represent each owner's proportional claim, and the company's board and secretary keep the ledger, run assessments for maintenance, and issue certificates the way any small corporation would. Many of these companies have operated continuously since the 1880s, run entirely by volunteer officers who inherit the books from whoever kept them before.
Buying or selling land with shares in Otero Ditch Co.?
Ditch shares are corporate stock — they don't transfer with the deed, and under C.R.S. § 7-42-104 unpaid assessments follow the shares to the new owner as a lien. The plain-English walkthrough — including what the standard Colorado contract does and doesn't protect — is at Ditch shares at closing on Water Rights Colorado, a guide site from DitchBook's operator. Need an answer about this company for a sale, closing, or estate? Ask here — Nick will get back to you within one business day.
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