Water share
Also called: canal company share, irrigation company stock, ditch share
Stock in a mutual irrigation or canal company that entitles the holder to a portion of the water the company delivers, rather than a water right held directly in the owner's name.
Across much of the West, and especially in Utah, many farms do not hold water rights themselves. The canal or irrigation company holds the rights, and shareholders receive a proportional delivery each season. A landowner may describe owning "water" when what they own is shares, and the two are bought, valued and moved very differently.
Shares typically transfer by the company's own rules and board approval, and moving the water to a new use or location can also require a change application on the company's underlying right. Because the right of record is in the company's name, a search by the shareholder's name in a state database will often return nothing.
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