Also known as: riparians · riparian rights · riparianism · riparian doctrine · riparian rights doctrine
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Of or relating to land bordering a river, stream, lake, or similar water body. A riparian proprietor is a person in possession of or holding an estate in such land. Rights determined by riparian doctrines are excluded from the category of servitudes.
Green River Land Trust recorded agreements requiring rural owners to maintain riparian buffers along the river. Dana purchased one parcel with the recorded promise in her chain of title. Dana seeks a declaration that the promises are not binding servitudes because they concern rights governed by riparian doctrines.
Kaiser Aetna developed a private marina by dredging a channel to the ocean. The United States asserted a navigational servitude over the waters. The marina owners claimed compensation for the resulting public access right imposed on their riparian property.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Stop the Beach Renourishment challenged a state project that fixed an erosion-control line. The project prevented future accretion from extending the upland owners' property seaward. The owners asserted that the change deprived them of common-law riparian accretion rights without compensation.
Lucas purchased two beachfront lots for residential development. A new state coastal council regulation barred all construction on the lots to protect the beach. Lucas claimed the regulation deprived him of all economically beneficial use of his riparian land.
First English Evangelical Lutheran Church built a retreat center on land along a creek. After a flood, the county enacted an interim ordinance barring reconstruction in the floodplain. The church sought compensation for the period its riparian property could not be used.
Home Building & Loan held mortgages on farms bordering a river. During the Depression the state extended redemption periods for mortgagors. The lender challenged the extension as impairing its contractual rights secured by the riparian properties.
Riparian land is a tract that borders a watercourse or lake. A riparian proprietor is a person in possession of or holding an estate in that land. These definitions determine who may exercise rights to use the water.
Supporting sources
Rights determined by riparian doctrines are expressly excluded from the definition of servitudes. The exclusion prevents private agreements from converting public-water rights into running covenants or easements. Courts therefore analyze such rights under water-law doctrines rather than servitude law.
Supporting sources
Reasonableness depends on the interests of the using proprietor, any harmed riparian proprietor, and society. Factors include the purpose of the use, the amount taken, and the effect on other users. Classification of the use as riparian or nonriparian does not control the outcome.
Supporting sources
A riparian proprietor is not liable for harm to a nonriparian unless the nonriparian holds a government permit or license. Liability also arises when the use interferes with a recognized public right to the waters. These limits preserve the priority of riparian status while protecting authorized public or permitted uses.
Supporting sources
…a pre-existing limitation upon the landowner's title. Compare Scranton v. Wheeler , 179 U. S. 141, 163 (1900) (interests of "riparian owner in the submerged lands . . . bordering on a public navigable water" held subject to Government's navigational servitude), with Kaiser Aetna v. United States , 444 U. S., at 178-180…