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<br />52 <br /> <br />percent of the business is water sales. <br />At the present time there is no public supervision specifically <br />designed for water right brokerages and transactions. Negotiations <br />between buyer and seller are essentially private, and require no legal <br />documentation beyond that to satisfy each party. Water rights are often <br />recorded in the deed to land, but not necessarily so. The absence of a <br />publ ic record means that the State Engineer does not have an accurate <br />record of current water right owners. Transfer of ownership occurs with- <br />out any official notification to the State Engineer. There have been <br />recent unsuccessful efforts in the General Assembly to require a public <br />record of water transfers by sale. <br /> <br />4.6.2 Value of Water Rights <br />The market price of a water right depends on a number of factors, <br />including the dependability of the water represented and the value of <br />water to the buyer. Municipal and industrial water users are the princi- <br />pal buyers. Agriculture, on the other hand, is the principal seller. <br />Highest prices are' paid for rights which are easily transferable to the <br />place of new use, and which are not subject to complicating legal action. <br />Water rights, upstream from the new point of use or rights in upstream <br />storage are easily transfered downstream while upstream transfer may <br />present problems. Rights in imported storage water such as Colorado Big <br />Thompson Project (CBT) water, can be transfered without court action and <br />are therefore preferred over appropriatell direct flow rights which may <br />be challenged in court by other right owners. <br />Municipalities generally require water rights to be supplied hy <br />developers to the city at the time of subdivision. This requirement <br />