Draft of the New Water Rights Non-Forfeiture Fee Regulations

The Draft Regulations derives directly from the amendment to the NWL, which modified Article 29 Bis 3, Section VI, regarding the expiration of water rights and the Non-Forfeiture Fee mechanism to prevent such expiration. The legal amendment contemplated the issuance of new regulatory provisions to govern the determination, payment and extension of such fee, which are now reflected in the draft regulation published by the Federal Executive.

What changes with respect to the current regime?

Since 2011, the Regulations for the Determination and Payment of the Non-Forfeiture Fee to Prevent the Expiration of National Water Rights has governed the mechanism set forth in Article 29 Bis 3 of the NWL, which allows concessionaires and assignees to prevent the expiration of water volumes that have not been exploited, used or developed for two consecutive years through the payment of a Non-Forfeiture Fee.

Although the Draft Regulations preserves the formula for determining the fee and maintains the calculation criterion based on the minimum unused volume during two consecutive years, it introduces relevant changes to the manner in which such mechanism may be used.

1. The main modification consists of the creation of the figure known as the “Non-Expiration Extension.”

Under the new framework, when a concessionaire or assignee intends to preserve volumes that have not been exploited, used or developed for two consecutive years, they must request express authorization from the National Water Commission (“CONAGUA”) to obtain an extension and justify the reasons why they need to preserve such volumes.

The application must be filed before the end of the eighth quarter of inactivity and must include a technical and documentary justification regarding: (i) the reasons why the volume has not been used; and (ii) the need to preserve it in light of the purpose of the concession or assignment. CONAGUA will have a term of 45 business days to issue a resolution.

Although the Draft Regulations recognizes that extensions do not need to be requested consecutively, it does not clarify the question that arose during the issuance of the amendment to the NWL: whether the limit of a first occasion and two extensions applies to each two-year period of non-use or throughout the entire term of the title. However, the reference to the “calculation of the first occasion and the two extensions” with respect to each title suggests that the intention is to limit this mechanism to a maximum of three occasions during the term of the concession or assignment.

2. One of the most relevant changes of the Draft Regulations is included in its transitory provisions, which provide that, for each concession or assignment title, the calculation of the first occasion and the two extensions will begin as of the first complete period of two consecutive years of non-use occurring after the entry into force of the relevant regulations.

3. The Draft Regulations also modifies the payment procedure, as currently the fee must be paid within the first 15 business days following the conclusion of the two-year period of non-use.

The Draft Regulations extends such term to 45 business days and establishes the obligation to subsequently submit the payment receipt to CONAGUA, so that CONAGUA may validate the interruption of the corresponding expiration.

4. The Draft Regulations provides that notices and applications related to the Non-Forfeiture Fee and extensions may be submitted through electronic platforms or systems enabled by CONAGUA, in line with the policy for the digitalization of administrative procedures promoted by the Federal Government.

Although several of the proposed amendments are procedural in nature, the Draft Regulations constitutes the regulatory development of the legal amendment approved in December 2025 and provides greater certainty regarding the manner in which CONAGUA will apply the new regime for the expiration and preservation of unused volumes.

Authored by Sofia de Llano, Mauricio Villegas, and Mauricio Llamas.