Water and land - Mountains
Around Trinidad, the Purgatoire River sits inside the Arkansas water system
Surface water in Las Animas County is part of the Arkansas River Basin and is administered by the state's Water Division 2, so a property's water question is rarely as simple as 'there's a river nearby.'
Published June 10, 2026 - Last verified June 11, 2026
The Purgatoire River runs through Trinidad and much of Las Animas County on its way to the Arkansas River. Because it is part of that larger system, the water in it is not just “there for the taking.” It is administered by the state.
Colorado divides the state into water divisions, and the Arkansas River Basin in the southeast is Division 2. A state division engineer and local water commissioners track who holds the older, senior rights and who holds the newer, junior ones. In a dry year, senior rights get filled first. That order matters more than how close your land sits to the river.
Why a buyer or landowner should care: a ditch running across a parcel, or a listing that mentions “water rights,” may describe a share with a priority date, a season, and limits, not an open faucet. Domestic water from a city, district, or permitted well is a separate question again. Each piece has to be checked on its own.
To learn how water is administered around the Purgatoire and the rest of the county, start with Colorado’s Division of Water Resources, Division 2 office.