Riparian rights
National Real Estate Exam glossary · Property Ownership
Definition
The water rights of an owner whose land borders a flowing watercourse such as a river or stream, generally including reasonable use of the water and, depending on navigability, ownership to the bank or the center of the channel. They are distinguished from littoral rights, which attach to land bordering a stationary body of water.
Riparian rights in plain English
Riparian rights are the water privileges you get when your land sits next to a river or stream that flows. Basically, if a creek runs along your backyard, you're allowed to make reasonable use of that water, and depending on whether boats can travel it, you may even own the land right up to the bank or out to the middle of the channel. The word to keep straight is its cousin "littoral" rights — those apply to land next to still water like a lake or the ocean. Easy memory hook: Riparian goes with a River (both move); littoral goes with a still lake.
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