Water Concessions Regularization Program

The Water Authority Implements the First Stage of the Water Concession and Assignment Regularization Program: An Opportunity to Regularize Expired Water Titles and Reduce Administrative Backlogs.

Dear Clients and Friends:

On July 15, 2026, the Mexican Federal Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación) published the “Administrative Order Establishing Measures for the First Stage of the Regularization of Certain Water Concession and Assignment Titles” (the “Administrative Order”), pursuant to which the National Water Commission (“CONAGUA”) launched the first stage of a regularization program applicable to certain water concession and assignment titles.

The Administrative Order is intended to address various administrative issues identified by CONAGUA during its review and reorganization of existing water concessions, including concession and assignment titles that expired without their holders having timely applied for renewal, renewal applications filed after the statutory deadline, administrative resolutions that remain pending notification, and administrative acts that, although already issued, have not yet been registered in the National Public Water Registry (Registro Público Nacional del Agua).

Through this first stage of the regularization program, CONAGUA seeks to streamline administrative procedures, reduce the substantial backlog currently affecting the administration of water rights, and provide affected users with greater legal certainty regarding their legal status in connection with these matters.

To achieve these objectives, the Administrative Order establishes two categories of regularization measures to be implemented by CONAGUA: (i) organizational measures and (ii) administrative management improvement measures each designed to address a different set of administrative issues.

On the one hand, the organizational measures are intended to regularize water concession and assignment titles that expired between January 1, 2009, and the effective date of the Administrative Order, provided that no renewal application was timely submitted or that the renewal application was filed after the deadline established under the Mexican National Water Law.
These organizational measures apply exclusively to water rights granted for (i) domestic, (ii) public urban, (iii) agricultural, (iv) livestock, (v) aquaculture, or (vi) any combination of such uses, where the titleholders are Irrigation Districts, Irrigation Units, Ejidos, state or municipal governments directly providing public water supply services, as well as individuals holding titles covering annual volumes of 1,000,000 m³ (one million cubic meters) or less.

It is important to note that these organizational measures do not operate automatically. Applicants must demonstrate compliance with the requirements established in the Administrative Order, including, among others, the existence of the relevant title in the National Public Water Registry, the continued operation of the authorized water use, compliance with applicable tax and administrative obligations, and the absence of certain legal proceedings or other statutory impediments. Accordingly, a case-by-case legal assessment is advisable before pursuing regularization under the program.On the other hand, the administrative management improvement measures are intended to reduce the backlog affecting various administrative proceedings pending before CONAGUA.

For this purpose, the Administrative Order establishes extraordinary procedures for the notification of administrative resolutions and water titles relating to applications filed before December 12, 2025, where notification remains pending because personal service or electronic notification has proven impossible.

In addition, the Administrative Order establishes a procedure allowing favorable resolutions concerning water concession and assignment titles that were notified on or after April 1, 2019, but had not yet been recorded in the National Public Water Registry as of the Administrative Order’s effective date, to be formally registered.

These measures may be particularly relevant for water users with pending administrative proceedings before CONAGUA, favorable resolutions that have not yet been registered, or administrative procedures that, due to administrative delays, have not yet produced their full legal effects.

The Administrative Order will remain in effect for 365 calendar days following its effective date. Accordingly, potentially eligible water users should promptly review the legal and administrative status of their concession or assignment titles to determine whether they satisfy the requirements to participate in this first stage of the regularization program.

This new framework presents an important opportunity for eligible users to regularize the legal status of their water rights and conclude pending administrative proceedings. Nevertheless, given the specific requirements and legal implications associated with the program, each case should be carefully evaluated in advance to determine eligibility, confirm compliance with the applicable requirements, and assess the potential legal consequences of pursuing regularization.

At EC Rubio, we have extensive experience advising clients on water rights, administrative law, and natural resources regulation. Our team is available to conduct a comprehensive review of your water concession or assignment titles, determine whether your particular circumstances fall within the scope of the Administrative Order, and assist you throughout the regularization process before CONAGUA.

We will continue monitoring the implementation of this first stage of the regularization program, as well as any subsequent measures issued by CONAGUA, in order to keep you timely updated of their potential implications across the various productive sectors.