Arizona Attorneys

Dunaway Law Group, PLC

Arizona attorneys with a focus on helping
Arizonians with difficult Legal Matters.

Assessment of Water Rights

A legal assessment of water rights can help determine if water can be legally for a project. If you cannot secure sufficient water rights for your development then your project is not going to leave the starting gates.

Water rights are legal rights that allow certain entities, like property owners or companies, to use, sell, divert, or manage water from a specific source. The laws governing water rights vary by state, and water permits are issued in accordance with those laws. 

Civil Litigation

In the United States, there are two main types of water rights:
riparian rights and prior appropriation rights:

Riparian rights give property owners the right to use water that borders their property. This is the doctrine that most eastern states follow.

Prior appropriation rights give the first person to start using a water source the right to divert it. This is the doctrine that most western states follow, including Arizona. 

Other factors that can be determined
by a legal assessment of water rights include:

Who owns the water rights

How much water can be used

When water can be used

Where water can be diverted

How much water diversion can be curtailed to ensure other parties with superior rights have access