Riparian Land Ownership

Who is a riparian landowner?

A riparian landowner is the owner of land that is next to a watercourse or has a watercourse running through or beneath it. Usually your house deeds will tell you whether you are responsible for a watercourse.

What is a watercourse?

A watercourse is a natural or artificial channel above or below ground through which water flows.

You are likely to be a riparian landowner if your property or land has a watercourse running:

• Through or underneath it
• Below it in a pipe or culvert
• Next to it, unless this is owned by someone else
• Beside a garden, fence, or hedge

How much of a watercourse are you responsible for?

If a watercourse runs adjacent to your land then you are likely to be responsible for the watercourse from the bank to the halfway point. This includes cases where the watercourse run along a boundary or just outside of a boundary, as set out by your title deeds.

For example, owners A and B would each be responsible for the maintenance of their side of the watercourse. Unless title deeds state otherwise, it is presumed that each property owner owns to the centre line of the watercourse.

Your rights

Riparian landowners have the right to:

• Receive a flow of water in its natural state, without undue interference in its quantity or quality
• Protect your property against flooding from the watercourse and to prevent erosion of the watercourse banks or any nearby structures
• Abstract a maximum of 20 cubic metres of water per day for the domestic purposes of their own household, or for agricultural use (excluding spray irrigation), without a licence. Most other types of abstraction will require a licence from the Environment Agency

A riparian owner usually has the right to fish in the watercourse, provided legal methods are used. A rod licence will usually be required from the Environment Agency.

Your responsibilities

Riparian landowners must:

• Ensure that water is allowed to flow without obstructions
• Keep the bed and banks clear from obstructions
• Manage vegetation within the channel and on the banks
• Keep any structures, such as trash screens and culverts, clear from debris, silt, and rubbish

More details

For more details on the rights and responsibilities of a riparian landowner, please visit the Environment Agency's guidance on owning a watercourse.