Trading Water on the Web

An estimated $2 billion to $3 billion in water deals are made annually in the West, an arid region where water takes on almost religious significance. In California, for example, two-thirds of the population live in the southern half of the state, whereas two-thirds of the state’s precipitation falls in the north. The water business, emotionally charged and marked by decades of political strife, has begun streaming into cyberspace, with Websites such as Albuquerque, N.M.—based WaterBank and Houston, Texas—based Water2Water springing up to facilitate buying, selling, storing, and transporting water in the West. Companies include Water2Water, The Water Rights Market, WaterInvestments.com, WaterBank and iAqua.com.