Episode 1: Why I launched Western Water Market
Episode 1:
Why I launched Western Water Market
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
In the very first Western Water Market Podcast episode, host and founder of Western Water Market, Kristina Ribellia, shares two key insights as a former water right buyer in Washington state that led her to launch WesternWaterMarket.com, "The place to buy, sell and lease water in the West" in early 2020.
[0:36] - Background on Kristina
[2:19] - First insight
[4:11] - Second insight
[5:06] - Why I wasn’t comfortable with increasing regulation
[7:12] - What I thought we needed instead
[7:56] - Launching Western Water Market
THE SHOW NOTES
Welcome to the Western Water Market Podcast. I'm your host Kristina Ribellia and this is our very first episode.
Background on Kristina (0:36)
Now while I can't wait to dive in all things water rights in the West with this really great lineup of guests that we have coming, I wanted to start by just helping lay the foundation -- give you a little bit of background and share a few key insights that led me to launch westernwatermarket.com at the beginning of last year, and really now this podcast. So I'm coming to you from Moses Lake Washington in eastern Washington. I first came over to Eastern Washington back in 1999, to attend Central Washington University.
I was born and raised in the Seattle area and ended up falling in love with this side of the state. Now for those of you who aren't familiar, this area is just this beautiful, dry, arid landscape with some really rich agricultural communities and just really good people. So I ended up actually getting my master's from Central in natural resource management, and have spent the last 20 years or so working across this side of the state on some really complex natural resource issues.
And it was in 2014 when I dove deep into water rights. It was at that time that I became a project manager for a statewide nonprofit organization who's dedicated to restoring and protecting streamflow, mainly for fish. And one of the tools that we used, and they still use is leasing and purchasing water rights for instream flow. So it was really during that time that I essentially became a water right buyer.
And I wanted to share with you two of the key things that I learned and experienced over those five years that led me to launch westernwatermarket.com.
First Insight: It has been way too hard for water right buyers and sellers to connect (2:19)
And the first thing is, is that I learned it is way too hard. Or it has been, way too hard, for water right buyers and sellers to connect. Now I would get phone calls from people interested in selling their water rights. And for whatever reason they wouldn't fit our buyers needs, they wouldn't fit our mission. And I would say have you talked to so and so, maybe give these folks a call and send them on their way. And unfortunately, I never really knew if they got the help that they needed, or if they were able to even sell their water rights. And that just that did not sit well. And especially I mean, if you think about this, could you imagine trying to buy or sell a house or property through word of mouth only? That is largely what our water right market has been here in Washington. And when I started to do my research, I found it wasn't just a problem here. This is something that I saw across the West. Now there are some highly active and established water markets in California, in places in Colorado, and in other areas where there's a lot of trading occurring. And you can even find some broker websites who have listings. But by and large, there has not been this go-to place, this common place, for water right buyers and sellers to connect and to be able to connect locally.
Second Insight: Growing distrust around out-of-basin and out-of-state water right buyers (4:11)
The second thing that I was seeing was this growing distrust for what was our water market here in Washington. And that was largely because of the understanding or learning that there were out of basin or out-of-state investors looking to purchase water rights. Now, if you're in the Colorado River Basin, you may be familiar with the term buy and dry. And that's essentially what I'm referring to here. These are investors doing targeted acquisitions, looking to purchase water rights and move them out of a county or out of a basin. Now as you can imagine this can really affect the property values, the tax base, the local agricultural economy, and a community's ability to potentially grow in the future.
Why I wasn’t comfortable with increasing regulation (5:06)
Now, while these are very valid concerns, some are looking to increasing regulation. And that was something I just was not comfortable with. First of all, I think it's incredibly important to preserve our flexibility with water rights. Being able to move them downstream and back upstream even can be a really valuable tool when we're needing to think creatively about solving our water problems. Now, this isn't just at the local level, this is at a regional level, a state-level... Water rights are incredibly valuable and being able to retain that flexibility, I feel is important.
Secondly, I really have no interest in telling someone if and who they can sell their water rights to. And when you start layering on regulation, that can quickly happen. And what that means is essentially someone's private property right, their water right, could lose value and lose value very quickly when we bring on those regulations. So while I think there's a place for regulations, most certainly, I want to be very careful. I think we need to be very careful when, where, and how that happens.
Now, I want to put a pin in this conversation, we're definitely going to come back to it. And I do just want to say one more thing, though. And that is, while there are concerns about these savvy investors doing targeted acquisitions, I really do think that there are benefits of working with the private sector. And that's something I want to explore more on this podcast.
What I thought we needed instead: A more open and efficient water market in the West (7:12)
After five years, I really saw and experienced how difficult it was for local water right buyers and sellers to connect. And then also having this increasing distrust around the out-of-state investors and really trying to make sense of our water market. I thought, you know what we need, what we actually need is a more open and efficient market. We need more transparency. We need the general public, you and I, everyone to be able to engage in our local water markets, not just have it reserved for the few who have the knowledge and the resources to buy and sell water rights, but for everyone to have not only the knowledge, but the access to do so. And that's when I thought of what is now westernwatermarket.com, "The place to buy, sell and lease water in the West." Now this is a really simple online listing service that's open to everyone, you can go on there right now.
Launching Western Water Market (7:56)
Now I launched this at the beginning of 2020. Right before the pandemic and I am just so happy to share, I didn't know if and how Western Water Market would grow during the shutdowns. And I'm just again, so happy to share that we now have water rights for sale and lease in three states. We have buyers on the market. And we have a growing network of the water right professionals that are really needed for a successful transaction. And it's thanks to these water right consultants and attorneys for really helping build and serve the market. Without them, Western Water Market would not be here today. Nor would this podcast be launching. So thank you to all of you professionals out there for your support. If you have any water right-related questions, these are the professionals that you want to work with. They are highly skilled and experienced in water rights and in water right transactions and transfers specifically. I'm going to go ahead and put a link to them in the show notes so that you can search and reach out to them directly. If there isn't one in your state yet, I'm going to also include my contact information, contact me and I will find one that can best help you. Now this is all about bringing you the information, resources, and tools that you need to be able to move forward with confidence. I am so excited to bring on some of these water right professionals as our guests, and others to really help bring you these resources. I'm going to keep this first episode super short and sweet. Thank you so much for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed it. And if you did, if you could rate review and subscribe to the podcast. That would mean the world to me. And until next time, take care. We'll see you next week.
Thank you
Thank you for tuning in to the Western Water Market Podcast. Now, remember, water rights are complex and nothing in these episodes are meant to be considered legal advice. To get the support that you need, search and work with water right professional in your state.