I see buyers fixate on whether a parcel has adjudicated water rights, and then completely ignore whether those rights come with active, in-good-standing membership in the ditch company that delivers the water. Those are two entirely different things, and confusing them is a costly mistake.
I watched a neighbor buy 80 irrigated acres with solid senior rights on paper. What he didn't catch until after closing was that the previous owner had let assessments lapse for three years. The ditch company had every legal right to deny delivery until the back dues, penalties, and a portion of deferred maintenance costs were settled. He lost most of that first irrigation season sorting it out.
In Colorado, ditch company shares and the real property are often conveyed separately, and the company's bylaws govern membership reinstatement — not the deed, not the title company, and not your real estate agent.
Always request a current assessment ledger and a letter of good standing from the ditch company itself before you close. Title insurance will not save you here.
Has anyone else had a title company miss this entirely, or is that just a western Colorado problem?