Governance & Policy
Riparian Rights
A water-rights system in which owners of land bordering a watercourse hold rights to make reasonable use of its water.
Definition
Riparian rights are water rights attached to ownership of land adjacent to a river, lake or stream: each riparian owner may make reasonable use of the water, provided others' reasonable use is not harmed, with no priority by time of first use. The doctrine prevails in the eastern United States, England and Wales, and contrasts with prior appropriation ("first in time, first in right") in the arid American West.
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