As part of its How Oregon Works series, Portland Business Journal featured Stoel Rives’ water rights partner David Filippi in a video Q&A titled “Managing water rights and limited water supplies in times of persistent drought,” posted December 23, 2021. Filippi provides some suggestions for a business to protect its water rights and secure future water supplies.
Filippi offers three steps for an Oregon business, which may have been affected by water storage reservoir shortages in the state, to shore up its water supply in the lean years:
- Look for opportunities to create redundant or backup water supplies.
- Look for opportunities to obtain additional water through water rights transfers, i.e., purchase of a water right from a neighboring water right holder.
- Look for opportunities to conserve water through such means as investments in new technologies or processes.
Filippi also stresses the need for any entity considering selling a business or real estate to have all aspects of its water rights up to date and in good condition and for a prospective buyer to perform due diligence with respect to water rights upfront.