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<br />PROPERTY RIGHTS <br />salallility <br /> <br />Water rights are treated as "real property" rights under <br />Colorado law. Although a water right represents the right to use <br />the resource rather than outright ownership, as with any other <br />property right, the holder of a water right has the expectation <br />of being able to sell the right. For some water rights holders <br />, ' <br />among them farmers and ranchers, water r~ghts may be their <br />highest valued asset. <br /> <br />"T,aking" <br /> <br />In colorado, there has been a reluctance to regulate water <br />rights beyond protecting the rights of other water rights <br />holders. Too severe regulations can lead to a "taking," in <br />essence, the government confiscating a piece of property by so <br />regulating it as to make it unusable or unsalable. <br /> <br />Right to transfer or change <br /> <br />The prerogatives of a water right holder includes the right <br />to change the nature of the use, location of use, or point of <br />diversion of the water right. These transfers or changes must be <br />processed and approved by the water courts, which assures <br />protection of other water rights. The purchaser of water rights', <br />as the new possessor, also has this prerogative. <br /> <br />Types of vater transfers <br /> <br />There are two general categories of transfers: those which <br />involve the transfer of a new appropriation or conditional <br />rights, and those which involve the transfer of an existing water <br />right. Much of the controversy which has fueled the public . <br />debate during the past few years has been driven by agriculture- <br />to-urban transfers. The two categories have overlapping issues <br />but there may be some differences that would require different <br />policy approaches. ' ' <br /> <br />:....,':'.....,:=;:.:<:.::.__;. .:: ';. ,", :", -.c. ':., : <:..... ,":.::;':",.:..:,:"-.,. .__..,_:.:,_.:.:..,:f.:... .::.;:.; <br />';'Questions:Howcanth8'interestsof"'those:> . .."e, <br />'::al'fectedbY a..large area-o:r~origin water?: ,'''' <br />""transfer .be taken into account>within::'the:'" <br />current framework of property rights? Are <br />there methods used in the use and/or removal <br />of other kinds of resources, such as minerals <br />and lumber, that can be applied to water <br />transfers to help address the needs of .these <br />affected interests? <br /> <br />6 <br />