WATER RIGHTS

Water cannot be used without the legal right to its capture and use.  The legal right to capture and use water is called a "water right."  A water right is a usufructuary, incorporeal, heriditament.

The right to capture and use water is a valuable real property right in most jurisdictions.  You may have water rights that were developed in the past and that are worth thousands of dollars to the right buyer. 

WaterBank^® acts as a brokerage and investment banking house.  WaterBank^® connects sellers of water rights, water utilities, springs, geothermal water, and bulk water with buyers.  WaterBank^® may buy and sell water rights and other water-related assets for its own account or through straw buyers. If you own valid and merchantable title to water rights, water utilities, or water sources, WaterBank^® can help you obtain the best possible price.  If you need water rights, or bulk water WaterBank^® can help you find a seller.

Water rights are sold on the basis of the consumptive irrigation requirement not the amount of water diverted to a piece of land for irrigation.  This is because some of the water applied to the land returns to the hydrological system.  Regulatory agencies keep their books based on water actually removed from the hydrological system.   If you have land that has adjudicated water rights, the adjudication commonly only states the diversion amount or the duty and not the consumptive irrigation requirement.

We must stress that you must own valid and merchantable title to any water you hope to sell or lease.   For water rights in areas that follow the civil law, this is usually the case if you own adjudicated or licensed water rights.  If your water rights have not been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction or licensed by a regulatory authority, you may have to prove the quantity of your rights and the priority date of their first use.  In common law jurisdictions, you may also have to prove ownership of the surface estate in the land.

WaterBank^® provides services to clarify  and confirm title on a consulting basis on behalf of clients.  These services are in addition to brokerage activities and can be very expensive.  Do your homework before offering your water rights, water utilities, water sources, bulk water, or geothermal water for sale or lease.  Get all of your documents together so that the title can be traced.  If you are acting as an agent for someone else, be sure to have a written agreement with your principle.  We do not need all of the documentation to list your property; but, we will need to see all of documentation before a transaction can even begin