When we last checked in with the property I was looking at, one of the biggest questions was what the heck was that polypipe running along the property?
I emailed the realtor and asked. Apparently, one of the neighboring properties has water rights to a spring on the BLM land. It appears they ran the polypipe from the spring to…somewhere. And they ran that pipe just on the inside edge of the property Im looking at.
Now, water rights don’t grant easements. It’s possible theres an easement that lets this guy run the pipe along the property…if thats the case, then Im afraid that might be a dealbreaker. I need to do a title search to see if theres an easement.
If there isn’t an easement, then things get more interesting. I don’t want to be a bad neighbor and tell this guy he has to move the pipe off the property. But I can’t have someone traipsing through the property whenever they want under the guise of checking the pipe for problems.
But…lets say that this guy doesnt have an easement. Perhaps an arrangement could be struck…in exchange for not making him move it (its all the way on the opposite side of the property from where Id build) I get to put a T into it and have access to that water. That might be something.
At the moment, though, I need to find out about the easement. If it queers the deal, so be it. We shall see.
Use the cadastral and find the owner and go talk to him. Might be a cool dude…
Always good to try and talk as they may be of like mind
A title company should be able to show any existing easements. With water being the #1 consideration for buying land, especially here in the desert SW, some kind of agreement would be beneficial to both parties. Maybe move it onto the property line or somewhere more agreeable to both parties.
A family member just bought 40 acres on the high desert for about $80k, underground power to the lot line, good access, good community. A well costs $25k just to drill.
If it’s a reliable year round spring and you can horse trade access you’re going to be way ahead if it negates drilling a well .
Question : what if he doesn’t have an easement but he’s done it that way for ten years and he says , go pound sand im not sharing the water or moving the pipe .
Legally at that point I wonder the options .
If it’s surface and he is watering cows on a summer pasture it may be a viable source when it’s minus 20?
Meant may not be viable when cold .
Also : according to our irrigation district , while a water right may not convey an easement , a water right (existing ) that has a surface ditch , does convey the right to clean ,‘maintain , access the ditch .
So
While it may not be an easement it’s still some guy who can walk the pipe line to check and repair .’ie loss of privacy
I use a headgate in a private yard and I have unrestricted access into that yard to turn the head gate on and off or adjust it . No easement but just saying water is a complex deal .
Following. This case is a good lesson / learning curve for raw land purchases especially those parcels out in the hinterlands that don’t have typical townie lot lines and thick books of municipal codes spelling everything out. BLM being .fed gov entity can change the rules mid game and amend or cancel water rights so don’t count on that being a guarantee or certainty in the future for your water needs. ranchers in my a.o. are getting pressured over water issues due to the area basin being attached to the Colorado River water compact laws for the millions of mouth breathers in urbanized southwest. Even if the other property owners are “cool dudes” and good agreements, access etc is favorable to you, that may change if there is ever new owners, or the .gov scenarios change. Have that legal stuff spelled out in ink and documented contractually for protections in the future. Happy hunting, stay frosty.
Water rights are state managed, the water happens to be on BLM ground.
I’d suggest checking with the relevant BLM office on whether he has a Right of Way grant to use the spring.
If he has no legal access to it, he should lose the water right at the state level – which would get rid of his need for the pipe.
Lots of ranchers/ cattlemen treat BLM land like personal land and haven’t done the paperwork to regularize their use. If he didn’t, it would be a useful club to keep in a back pocket.
Already checked. He does have the water right, but that doesnt convey an easement or any other right to have the transmission form (in this case a plastic pipe) cross someone elses property. So..I need to title search for it.
Is his last name Bundy Gotta watch out for those welfare cowboys
Commander Zeros Ultimate Dream Home (Rancho Ballistica)
Many gravity-fed springs around here. Some feed three to five houses. Usually the poly pipe runs into a buried plastic tank or cistern. The water flows out the bottom of the cistern to a house. The cistern has an overflow pipe — because the spring provides more water than anyone needs — and it goes to another cistern which feeds another house. This chain can be repeated multiple times if there are a couple gallons of water per minute. Sounds like you would be the up-hill property, which is always best as you get the water first!
I can’t believe the pipe is above ground. Over the first two years we owned this place, ours froze, cracked, burst and even got bitten by what we think was a coyote or fox. We finally had it buried.
Zero, if the pipe hasn’t burst in winter, it would suggest that there isn’t enough water to fill the pipe under normal use.
Or that the flow is fast or strong enough to preclude ice forming.
You need to be careful letting anyone have use of your property without a written agreement. As far as I recall, if you let someone have access through your property for seven years – that becomes a legal easement. Now, if you can have access to the water – have them.bury it below the frost line, stub in a tee and valve for your use, and get a signed agreement. That’s probably being a good neighbor on your part and getting something worthwhile out of it. Just have the agreement setup so any interruption of your water means you can immediately terminate the agreement. Also, any maintenance to rhe main line is their responsibilty, not yours.
When we were looking for a property we looked at a property that had gas well and radio/cell tower on it. We couldn’t get any answers about the legal arrangement for the tower. What they did tell us was that there was no revenue from it. The well produced very little gas. We didn’t walk away from that one – we ran. Never did sell
About 25 years ago, a couple big businesses went around the nation and bought out the mom & pop radio repeater outfits. The hammer they used was to threaten to buy a nearby mt peak, set up a tower, and offer lower costs to the radio renters, to put them out of business. If you were lucky, there wasn’t a suitable spot for them to set up. Usually there was, unfortunately.
My sister and her hubby had a nice setup, but they and their partner took the 7 figure offer and bailed.
If the tower business isn’t making money, some variation of this scenario happened, and you can’t fix it.