Nevada Lease Involving Water Rights

By Nevada statute, residents who do not have access to a public utility are allowed to drill one domestic well on their property, a personal straw giving them direct access to groundwater. They do not need a permit or any water right to drill a well.

State law regulates several rent-related issues, including late and bounced-check fees, the amount of notice (at least 45 days in Nevada) landlords must give tenants to raise the rent, and how much time (five days in Nevada) a tenant has to pay overdue rent or move before a landlord can file for eviction.

Water rights were fetching anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 an acre-foot. In 2005, when Washoe County auctioned off 174 acre-feet of water rights, it brought in an average of $40,492 an acre-foot. (One acre-foot of water is roughly enough to supply two single-family homes for one year.)

Surface Water: The right of landowners to waters that are in watercourses (e.g., streams, rivers etc.) that border on the landowner's property. The rights of landowners regarding ground or well water.

These rights are often based on local laws over property held in trust for the public. In the United States, each States holds the land submerged by navigable waters in trust for the public and can establish a public right to access or recreate within these public waterways.

Nevada water law is based on two basic principles: prior appropriation and beneficial use. Prior appropriation also known as first in time, first in right allows for the orderly use of the state's water resources by granting priority to senior water rights in times of shortage.

The only way to know for certain whether you have water rights is to check the deed and speak directly with a state official just in case. A professional can help support you in this endeavor, as many times, water rights may have been previously abandoned on your land.

In Amargosa / Amargosa Valley you may be able to find someone who will part with an acre foot of water for $ 2,000 to $ 5,000 per acre-foot. Pahrump has a higher range that generally runs between $ 2,000 and $ 10,000 per acre-foot. The demand for water in rural locations is not however strong.