Access to water

By common law the proprietor of land upon the banks of a natural stream of running water is entitled to the use of that water within the limits set out in the Water Act, 1912. The proprietor is entitled to have, and obliged to accept the flow of water past the land and cannot deprive those further downstream of the flow or dam the water back on land upstream. These rights and obligations do not depend upon ownership of the bed of the stream, but of its bank, and are thus called Riparian Rights.

To obtain the right of enjoyment of riparian rights, it is only necessary to acquire a portion of the bank of a stream. It need only be a narrow strip, for no riparian rights can belong to the rest of the land unless it is in the same ownership as the bank. It is contact with the stream that gives rise to the rights.

For further information see Surveyor General's Directions No 6 (PDF 205 kb) - Water as a Boundary.