In Morgan County, river water and tap water are two different things

In Morgan County, a property can carry two completely different kinds of water, and treating them as one thing causes trouble.

One is the household water that comes out of the tap, from a town system, a rural district, or a well. The other is irrigation water, pulled from the South Platte River and from reservoirs and delivered through a network of canals and ditches that green up the valley’s beet fields, corn, hay, and pastures. Irrigation water often comes as shares tied to the land. It has its own delivery schedule and its own rules, and it is not drinking water. Having it does not mean the home has plenty of domestic supply.

Why a buyer should care: a listing that mentions “irrigation” or “ditch rights” may be describing water for the yard or the field, not the water that serves the house. The two have to be checked on their own. Find out what supplies the home, and find out exactly what irrigation actually transfers with the sale, since shares do not always follow the land automatically.

Confirm the household water and the irrigation water separately, using the state water agency and the local ditch or canal company.