I used to think any adjudicated water right was a solid asset. I was wrong. Priority date is everything under prior appropriation, and I've watched buyers close on senior-looking paper rights that were actually mid-tier in a fully overallocated system. When drought hits and the call goes out, those rights get curtailed fast — sometimes for years straight.
The number that matters isn't the acre-feet on the decree. It's where your priority date sits relative to every senior right on that ditch or stream reach. I've seen 1920s paper rights that look great until you discover there are 1890s and 1900s holders upstream who will drain the system completely in a dry year before your headgate sees a drop.
Get the full priority stack from the state engineer's office before you make an offer — not after. Your title company won't pull it, your agent doesn't understand it, and the seller isn't volunteering it.
Anyone bought ground where the priority date looked fine on paper but performed completely differently in practice?