How Much is Your Water Worth
The primary mission of the Walker Basin Conservancy is to restore and maintain Walker Lake, while protecting the agricultural, environmental and recreational interests in the Walker Basin. We are seeking to reverse the decline of Walker Lake through a voluntary market-based program working with willing sellers to acquire water rights for the benefit of the lake.
The Water Rights Estimator provides a quick and easy way for water right owners to get a market value estimate of their water rights. The estimator requires users to input basic information from their Walker River Irrigation District (WRID) card(s). It is recommended to have the most up to date WRID card(s) available in order to get an accurate estimate of your water rights. To request your WRID card(s), contact WRID’s Water Right Specialist, Sandy Neville, at sandy@WRID.us.
A water right’s value depends on several variables including location, size, and reliability. The reliability of a water right is estimated by analyzing its priority date fulfillment over a large range of previous water years. Purchase values of comparable water right transactions are also incorporated into the estimator to generate an estimate of a water right’s market value. Actual water right offers are likely to be in the range quoted, however, each transaction is unique and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss details and answer any questions you might have.
Please note that this estimator is for surface water rights in the Nevada portion of the Walker Basin only — if you hold other water rights in the Walker Basin and are interested in engaging with the Conservancy to learn more about their water right acquisition program, please contact Carlie Henneman by email at carlene.henneman@walkerbasin.org or by phone 775-463-9887 ext. 106.
Lastly, it is recommended that users access the water right value estimator from a laptop or computer. Although the estimator will work from a cell phone or mobile device, it is more difficult to enter the required information and could result in an inaccurate water right value estimation submission.
Helpful Links
For more information on the Walker Basin Conservancy, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
For more information on the Walker Basin Conservancy water acquisitions, please click here.
The Walker River Basin Hydro Mapper is produced by the United States Geological Survey to form a common basis of understanding for water users in the Walker Basin. Interactive maps provide information on streamflow, snowpack, reservoir levels, and more. The tool also provides a basin-wide perspective on the impact of the Conservancy’s water acquisitions to support Walker Lake by tracking acquired water to the lake and monitoring lake levels.
Instructions
To estimate the value of your water rights, the estimator below requires information that is on your WRID card(s). If you are interested in the value of only some of the water rights on your WRID card(s), simply enter only the ones for which you would like to receive a value estimate.
Please follow the steps in order, as described in the estimator below, and ensure that all cells have a number or a zero in them. As needed, please refer to the example WRID card below for guidance on locating the required water right information. If you need more detailed instructions, please click here.
After filling in all relevant information, please enter your email and click “send results” to receive your estimate. If you are interested in being contacted by our staff to discuss your water rights, you must check the “Yes” box. Otherwise, you will NOT be contacted by anyone regarding the information you have submitted. All your information is 100% confidential and will not be shared with anyone.
Results are for illustrative purposes and are not guaranteed. Use of this estimator will NOT commit owners to pursuing a transaction with the Walker Basin Conservancy and does NOT constitute a formal offer from us to purchase the offered water right(s). All inquiries are confidential.
Example WRID Card
