Short answer. Yes, you have that right under Article 642 of the Civil Code — but you must pay. The law grants you the easement to channel water through intervening estates, and requires you to compensate the owners of those estates, as well as any lower lands that the water may filter into or flow down to.
What the law says
Any person who may wish to use upon his own estate any water of which he can dispose shall have the right to make it flow through the intervening estates, with the obligation to indemnify their owners, as well as the owners of the lower estates upon which the waters may filter or descend.
Civil Code, Article 642 — The Right to Make Water Flow Through Others' Land. Read the full provision →
The right and the price
Article 642 of the Civil Code creates a forced easement of water flow. In full, it reads: "Any person who may wish to use upon his own estate any water of which he can dispose shall have the right to make it flow through the intervening estates, with the obligation to indemnify their owners, as well as the owners of the lower estates upon which the waters may filter or descend." The right is real — your neighbor cannot simply refuse to let water pass through their land. But the law balances this by requiring indemnification, so the neighbor who bears the burden is compensated.
Water you can dispose of
The right under Article 642 applies only to water of which you can dispose. This means you must have a lawful right to that water source — water from your own spring, well, or a stream allocated to you. You cannot invoke this easement to pipe through your neighbor's land water that you have no right to use in the first place. If your entitlement to the water itself is unclear, that question needs to be resolved before the easement issue arises.
Who must be compensated
The indemnification obligation runs in two directions: to the owner of the land the water flows through, and also to the owners of lower estates where the water eventually filters or descends. Water does not always stop at the boundaries you intend, and the law accounts for this by requiring you to compensate those further downstream who are affected. The amount of indemnification should reflect actual damage — loss of land use, risk of flooding, or interference with existing drainage.
What this easement does not give you
The easement under Article 642 is functional, not open-ended. It allows you to channel water through — not to occupy, build permanent infrastructure across, or modify the neighbor's land beyond what the water passage requires. The route and manner of the water channel should be the one causing least damage to the burdened estate. If there is a dispute about the appropriate route or the amount of compensation, a lawyer can help you document your water rights, propose a route, and negotiate or formalize the indemnification.