Opinion No.

The Honorable Jay Bradford State Senator P.O. Box 8367 Pine Bluff, AR 71611

Dear Senator Bradford:

This is in response to your request for an opinion on behalf of the City of Cabot, Arkansas. You state that the City has purchased property and that there is a provision on the deed that reserves water rights. You have asked whether or not water rights can be reserved in a real estate transaction in Arkansas.

My research indicates that water rights can, as a general matter, be reserved.1 It also appears, however, that the question of whether any such rights have been effectively reserved in a given…