Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Water rights

Water rights

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Water is a strategic national asset that cannot be sold or lost by prescription. The owner of land may sink an ordinary well for household or stock use, and may tap groundwater on the land if public or private flows are not diverted. Works on public water are run by INDRHI, the top authority on the subject. Water rights are one of two exceptions to the no hidden charges rule in the land registry.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar for 29 October 2026, the latest row in its published rate file on the verification date, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Ownership of water	National patrimony; ordinary well water belongs to the landowner Constitución art. 15; Ley 5852 art. 21, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Water authority	INDRHI Ley 64-00 art. 195, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Water is a strategic national asset for public use, inalienable, imprescriptible and immune from seizure, and human consumption has priority.Constitución de 2024, art. 15, 2024-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. INDRHI is the top national authority on the control and use of fluvial waters and works.Ley 64-00 General sobre Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, art. 195, amending art. 4 of Ley 6 de 1965, 2000-08-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Registered land carries no hidden charges, except those coming from the water and mining laws.Ley 108-05 de Registro Inmobiliario, as amended by Ley 51-07, art. 90 paragraph II, 2005-03-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Water from wells for domestic use or stock belongs to the owner of the land.Ley 5852 sobre Dominio de Aguas Terrestres y Distribución de Aguas Públicas, art. 21, 1962-03-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Every owner may sink ordinary wells on their land, keeping 15 meters in the countryside from neighbors' wells, ponds, springs and channels.Ley 5852 sobre Dominio de Aguas Terrestres y Distribución de Aguas Públicas, art. 22, 1962-03-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. A landowner may tap groundwater by artesian wells, deep wells and galleries if public or private water is not diverted.Ley 5852 sobre Dominio de Aguas Terrestres y Distribución de Aguas Públicas, art. 23, 1962-03-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. If such work reduces waters used under acquired rights, the authority can suspend it.Ley 5852 sobre Dominio de Aguas Terrestres y Distribución de Aguas Públicas, art. 24, 1962-03-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. This work needs the neighbors' licence within 40 meters of others' buildings, or 100 meters from another source, river, channel or public trough.Ley 5852 sobre Dominio de Aguas Terrestres y Distribución de Aguas Públicas, art. 25, 1962-03-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Concessions to tap groundwater in public land are granted by the water authority.Ley 5852 sobre Dominio de Aguas Terrestres y Distribución de Aguas Públicas, art. 26, 1962-03-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. Mineral waters are public domain even on private land, and the landowner has priority in a concession on equal terms.Ley 5852 sobre Dominio de Aguas Terrestres y Distribución de Aguas Públicas, art. 17, 1962-03-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. Lakes and lagoons formed by nature are public domain, and ponds formed on private land belong to the owner.Ley 5852 sobre Dominio de Aguas Terrestres y Distribución de Aguas Públicas, art. 19 and art. 20, 1962-03-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Worked example

A RD$30,000,000 (about US$492,605.18) farm relies on a canal allocation. The right is not shown on the title in the way a mortgage is, and water law charges can bind the land regardless. Ask INDRHI what rights attach and whether fees are current before pricing the irrigation.

Step by step

Identify water sources on the land.
Ask INDRHI for the status of concessions.
Check neighbors' wells before drilling.
Get environmental clearance for abstraction works.

Common traps

The FAOLEX copy of Ley 5852 is the original text, and refers to a former agency. Read it with later changes.
The art. 22 distance inside towns is unclear in that copy, so it is omitted.
Press reports track a new water bill. Status was not confirmed, so check Congress.
Concession terms and fees were not verified.

Sources

← Protected areas and environmental permitsRural land and agrarian reform →

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