Civic · 6 pages · 12 min

Why prior appropriation and riparian rules are different histories

Riparian law shares water among shore owners; appropriation ranks users by who started first.

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From the opening

Prior appropriation and riparian rules are two different legal histories for deciding who may use surface water. Riparian doctrine grew where water was treated as an incident of owning land along a stream, and appropriation grew where people claimed scarce water by diverting it and putting it to use, in order of time. The opening covers riparian rights follow the bank, appropriation ranks users by time, and western ditches can leave the stream.

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Inside

Riparian rights follow the bank
Appropriation ranks users by time
Western ditches can leave the stream
Hybrid states carry both layers
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

Riparian water rights
Prior appropriation doctrine

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Why prior appropriation and riparian rules are different histories

From the opening

Inside

Sources

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