How do I verify a property's water rights before I buy?

Question

Turnrow Capital · Accepted Answer

Start with the state water agency's public database — nearly every western state lets you search rights by owner, parcel, or stream. Pull the right's number, priority date, decreed amount, place of use, and status, then match that paper record against what is physically being irrigated. It is the same file Turnrow reviews at underwriting.

The paper trail has four checkpoints: the state record (permit, certificate, or decree), the county deed history showing the right was actually conveyed to the current owner, any ditch company stock certificates or district records, and well permits for groundwater. A seller's assurance that "the water comes with it" is not verification.

Then verify use. A decreed right for 400 acre-feet means little if the state record shows non-use flags, if the point of diversion no longer matches the pump location, or if the place of use does not cover the fields you intend to irrigate. Aerial imagery history — free from USDA and Google Earth — shows whether ground was actually irrigated in past seasons.

For material purchases, commission a water rights due diligence report from a water attorney or water engineer, typically $2,500–$10,000 depending on complexity. Title insurance generally does not cover water rights, so this report is the only professional backstop you get. On any significant irrigated purchase, that spend is cheap insurance.