Joshua
In all the time I worked in Paducah, I never did a boundary survey on the river.
It is interesting to know that the property line does not encompass the river bed as well.
I guess it has to do with what is defined as navigable?
It seems like I recall an issue with barges tying off near a property and someone thought they owned the river bed and tried to get it so the barges could not tie off. Seems like someone at one of the chapter meetings told a story about this situation. But it was so long ago I do not remember any details.
Normally the states own the beds of navigable rivers not the U.S. They hold title in trust for the public. The beds of navigable rivers are granted from the federal government to the states at the time of statehood. In the colonial states and Texas the U.S. never had title. Some states have chosen to grant title to private parties, but the public always retains an easement.
Water boudaries are special when determing the location. First you need to determin if the river was considered navagable at the time of Statehood. If the river is considered navagable the property line would be the ordinary high water mark per Natcher et al. V. City of Bowling Green et al. Kentucky (1936) 95 S.W. 2d 255; The Commonwealth owns on navagable rivers from ordinary high water mark to ordinary high water mark. With all water boundaries except in the case of alvusion these lines are not fixed and are constantly changing, and caution should be used in defining these lines. I hope this helps.
> Water boudaries are special when determing the location. First you need to determin if the river was considered navagable at the time of Statehood. If the river is considered navagable the property line would be the ordinary high water mark...
Properties that are bounded by the Ohio River are a little different. See my post above with case cited.
@tommy-young your property line would extend to what's called the "ordinary high water mark" which has some funky definition, but in essence is the boundary where vegetation and the bank no longer show evidence of river flow. This applies to all waterways which are "navigable" - which again can be confusing since we'd tend to think of navigable as dealing with barges, etc. Not true - navigable, for a legal sense, is basically any waterway that can be used by any craft for any purpose, so a stream thru your land that can float a kayak, is navigable according to supreme court precident. The river, and it's waters, aren't "owned" by the government - rather they are HELD IN TRUST, for the public use and enjoyment. Rivers, streams, creeks, their land and waters are publicly owned.
@tommy-young you own to the "ordinary high water mark" - anything beyond that, even if cited by deed, isn't actually yours, as you can't deed what was never yours to begin with. Navigable waterways, in whole, are held in trust by the federal government for the public benefit. So, yes, you may "own" a section of the river - however you can't stop the public from use or access to "your" property (aside from private upland land, not the waterway) or really do anything useful with it - as again it isn't actually yours.
This thread is why I love land surveying.?ÿ I started this thread 10 years ago.?ÿ It was recently bumped, and it is still applicable.?ÿ Nothing has gone out of date.?ÿ Could you imagine a thread on technology being valid a decade later?
