CONAGUA Launches the first phase of the regularization of national water concessions and assignments

On July 15, 2026, the "Agreement Establishing Actions for the First Phase of Regularization of the Concession and Assignment Titles Indicated Herein" was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación, DOF), issued by the National Water Commission (Comisión Nacional del Agua, CONAGUA). The Agreement forms part of the Federal Government’s broader effort to bring order to the concession regime governing national waters. 

CONAGUA identified a high incidence of concession and assignment titles for domestic, public-urban, agricultural, livestock, and aquaculture uses in respect of which no extension (prórroga) was requested within the period established by the National Waters Act (Ley de Aguas Nacionales, LAN). 

Although various decrees granting administrative facilities to regularize expired titles were published between 2014 and 2025, a significant number of titles remain unregularized.

Additionally, the Sixth Transitional Article of the Decree issuing the General Water Act (Ley General de Aguas), published in the DOF on December 11, 2025, mandates that CONAGUA implement regularization programs through simplified procedures in accordance with the National Act to Eliminate Bureaucratic Red Tape (Ley Nacional para Eliminar Trámites Burocráticos).

Purpose of the Agreement

The Agreement establishes additional temporary measures to carry out the first phase of regularization of national water concession and assignment titles. These measures are implemented through administrative-simplification actions and encompass two main tracks:

Regulatory-Ordering Actions

Concession and assignment titles whose terms expired between January 1, 2009 and the effective date of the Agreement, in respect of which no extension was requested (or was requested out of time), shall be regularized for domestic, public-urban, agricultural, livestock, and aquaculture uses—or any combination thereof—provided that the holders are:

• Irrigation districts, irrigation units, and ejidos, duly constituted under applicable law, with no volume limit.
• States and municipalities that directly provide the water-supply service, with no volume limit.
• Individuals, for a volume equal to or less than one million cubic meters per year.

Excluded are titles whose volumes are destined for agroindustrial use as defined in Article 2, section XVII, of the Regulations to the LAN.

Administrative-Management Improvement Actions

Additional notification mechanisms will be implemented for resolutions and titles corresponding to applications filed before December 12, 2025 that, as of the date of publication of the Agreement, have not been served.

Likewise, concession holders and assignees may request the registration in the National Public Water Registry (Registro Público Nacional del Agua, formerly Registro Público de Derechos de Agua) of favorable title resolutions served on or after April 1, 2019 that have not yet been registered, provided they submit the corresponding proof of service, the authenticity of which shall be verified by the water authority.

Requirements for Accessing Regularization:

Title holders seeking to regularize their concessions must meet, among others, the following requirements:

• Demonstrate the legal standing of the applicant.
• Hold a registry entry in the National Public Water Registry (Registro Público Nacional del Agua).
• Submit documentation evidencing the nature of the water use (Irrigation District creation decree, Irrigation Unit registry, or ejido creation instrument, as applicable).
• Consent to electronic service of process.
• Maintain properly equipped waterworks that have been in operation during the last two years.
• Have a volume meter installed and in operation.
• Evidence the volumes extracted over the last two years.
• Be current on the payment of water-use fees for the last five fiscal years.
• Have no outstanding final or enforceable tax assessments pending payment.
• Not have a pending water-rights transfer application, nor be subject to administrative sanctioning or judicial proceedings.

Regularization shall not proceed where the total extinction or revocation of the concession or assignment has been declared and the resolution has not been challenged or, if challenged, the legal remedy has been finally resolved in favor of CONAGUA.

CONAGUA is empowered to establish physical service boards at its Comprehensive Service Centers and digital service boards on CONAGUA’s website, within 60 calendar days. CONAGUA will publish on its website the list of resolutions pending service and water users will have 90 calendar days from such publication to appear for personal service. After that period, service will be effected by posting on the service boards.

CONAGUA will verify the actual use of national water volumes over the last two years and will carry out conciliation processes with water users to adjust the concession volume to the volume effectively used or exploited. In this assessment, the following factors will be considered: water security, ecosystem needs, food security, climatological factors, and the social-marginalization index of population centers.

Effectiveness and Transitional Provisions

Practical Implications

This Agreement is particularly relevant for companies, agricultural producers, ejidos, municipal and state water-utility operators, and individuals holding concession or assignment titles that expired between 2009 and July 2026. 

Interested parties should promptly assess whether they meet the established requirements to benefit from this first phase of regularization, bearing in mind that the program’s term is one year.

It is important to note that regularization will be granted in accordance with the use and volume recorded in the National Public Water Registry (Registro Público Nacional del Agua), and that CONAGUA may adjust the concession volumes based on its verification of actual use, which could result in reductions to the originally authorized volume.

Additionally, water users with applications pending service filed before December 12, 2025 should monitor the publication of the corresponding list on CONAGUA’s website in order to appear for personal service within the 90-day period and avoid service by posting (notificación por estrados).