Every way water gets leased in the West
Same asset, six very different deals. The structure you choose, and the buyer on the other side of it, moves the rate more than anything else you control.
Irrigation Leases
Rent your irrigation water to another grower for a season or a term, and keep the right.
Municipal Leases
Cities and industry pay the top of the market. Senior agricultural rights are what they lease.
Frac Water Leases
Operators pay by the barrel. One acre foot is 7,758 barrels. Do that math before you sign.
Water Banks
Deposit your right in a state-approved bank, get paid rent, keep the right protected.
Instream Leases
Conservation buyers pay real money for water left in the stream. Your right stays yours.
Groundwater Leases
Wells, permits, and pumping allocations can all be leased, if the local rules allow it.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main types of water leases?
Six cover nearly every deal in the West: agricultural irrigation leases, municipal and industrial leases (including dry-year options), oilfield and frac water supply agreements, water bank deposits, environmental instream flow leases, and groundwater or well leases. Each has its own buyers, paperwork, and price level.
Which type of water lease pays the most?
Oilfield supply is the ceiling where it exists: Permian fresh water has sold for $1 to $2+ per barrel, roughly $7,800 to $15,500 per acre foot. Municipal and mitigation demand set the premium elsewhere, and state bank rates, like Idaho at a posted $33 per acre foot, set the floor.
Can the same water right use different lease types over time?
Yes, and the best-managed rights do: bank the right in quiet years, take a dry-year municipal option when a city shows up, and reprice at every renewal. Leases are term deals, so the structure can change as basin demand changes.
Do all lease types protect my right?
Approved leases generally count as beneficial use, which is what forfeiture doctrines measure, and bank, trust, and instream programs add explicit statutory protection. The unprotected position is unapproved use or no use at all.
Find out what your water is worth before anyone else tells you.
Tell us what you hold. We bracket its value against sourced comparables and real demand in your basin, then point you at the strongest path: lease, bank, or sell. Confidential, and yours to act on however you like.
- A defensible range, anchored to sourced comparables
- The demand map for your basin: who would pay and why
- Reply within one business day, confidential throughout