riparian rights

Riparian Rights

The right to use running water as it comes on to one's property. Riparian rights include, for example, the right to fish and the right to use the water to power machinery on one's land. Riparian rights come with various duties and responsibilities, such as not to pollute water such that it would affect the rights of property owners downstream and not to prevent the free passage of fish. With certain, limited exceptions, riparian rights are non-transferable. The rights have their origins in English common law.

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riparian rights

Rights pertaining to the use of water in, on, near, or flowing over land.The most common rights are the right to a reasonable use of the water,the right to use the shoreline and have access to the water,the right to any land formed by accretion or relication,the right to have the water flow to the land without obstruction, the limited right to build piers in the water, and the right to catch fish, although the land owner does not own the fish. Although the word “riparian” typically applies to rivers and streams but not lakes, the expression “riparian rights”generally means to imply any rights having to do with water,including surface runoff.

The Complete Real Estate Encyclopedia by Denise L. Evans, JD & O. William Evans, JD. Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.