Trading Rights to Water from Western Streams and Aquifers Moves to Internet

LITTLETON and EDWARDS, Colo.-- ResourceNet, LLC has launched the first business-to-business e-marketplace for trading water, water rights and water-related properties throughout the western United States. This marketplace has been named www.WaterRightsMarket.com. Many people are not aware that the rights to use water from America's western streams and aquifers often are real property rights that are bought, sold and leased between farmers, cities, developers and others. Before supplying water to homes, a city must own or lease water rights; before irrigating crops, a farmer must own or lease water rights. "Until now, trading water usually required knowing who to call, who might be willing to buy or sell their water. Finding available water as well as deciding what that water was worth often was difficult and inefficient. ResourceNet's website changes that by creating a central location for potential buyers and sellers to find one another, and by creating an avenue for price discovery and assessing market conditions that did not previously exist," stated David Despeaux, ResourceNet manager.ResourceNet cofounders Gregg Campbell and David Despeaux had the goal of creating greater efficiency in the highly fragmented water market. That goal was reached on February 1, of this year, when WaterRightsMarket.com first appeared on the Internet. Though operations have just begun, approximately 10 million dollars worth of water rights already are listed for sale!"In addition to bringing economic benefits to the water and agricultural industries, the major improvement in efficiency that WaterRightsMarket.com creates for the western water markets also benefits the environment. When you increase the economic value of an asset, whether it is water or anything else, people will treat it more carefully. When you increase the liquidity of an asset, those who don't need it as much can more easily sell to those who do," Despeaux said.SOURCE ResourceNet, LLC