Riparian Rights - Abrupt Rerouting of Creek/River

That is textbook.
If it is a slow gradual movement, the boundary moves with it. If it is an abrupt change, either natural or man-made, then the boundary stays where the water course used to be.

jmfleming, post: 410498, member: 7867 wrote: Happy 2017!

Do any of you guys know how riparian rights are generally applied to an abrupt rerouting of a creek or river? In this case, a (non-navigable) creek was rerouted due to a massive flood over 75 years ago. The creek flows along the changed route to this day. The deed descriptions for the owners on each side of the creek is the typical ".. that part of Quarter-Quarter Section lying east of creek" and "... that part of Quarter-Quarter Section lying west of creek." The difference due to the rerouting accounts for approximately 10 acres and is contained within one Quarter-Quarter Section.

Thank you,
Mack

To find the boundary you have to locate the previous bed of the creek.

Locating the old bed of the creek is relatively easy. It is in the State of Alabama. I hope to cite some previous cases to be absolutely certain.

We had a river do that and create a very large island in the process. About 90 percent of the water flows through the "cutoff" and the remainder still flows through the original channel. The cutoff is substantially shorter than the original channel, making it considerably steeper, which has lead to a huge channel in the cutoff compared to the original river.

There are a few really good books on this. I bought James Simpson's Rivers and Boundaries when I was working on a survey that was going to be in court. It was very helpful. I even got to speak to him over the phone a few years before he passed away. He was one heck of a nice man. I wish I would have asked him to sign the book.

The classic E&P and BC&LP books should have some references as well. Being in Alabama, you might want to check with the state society about any property law books they may have available.

Avulsion: the sudden separation of land from one property and its attachment to another, especially by flooding or a change in the course of a river.

jmfleming, post: 410503, member: 7867 wrote: Locating the old bed of the creek is relatively easy. It is in the State of Alabama. I hope to cite some previous cases to be absolutely certain.

Send me an e-mail and I will respond with the Alabama digest under boundaries. There are cases under Waters and Watercourses in Part I and Part II.

david dot karoly @ fire dot ca dot gov

cc:
karolysurvey at gmail dot com

Did the Deeds originate before or after the avulsive event? That makes a difference. Avulsion is the legal term of art for a sudden change.

"Where, by a sudden or violent change, the channel or shore on which riparian or littoral lands are bounded is shifted,
the boundaries of such lands are unaffected, and remain in their original position; however, where the change is gradual
and imperceptible, whether caused by accretion, erosion, reliction, or alluvion, the boundaries shift with the shifting
of the body of water or shore." -11 C.J.S. Boundaries å¤ 54.Shifting of body of water or shore

CJS points to Water Law key 1465 for a digest of cases on this issue. That is the Westlaw key number.

Typically, avulsion as stated by the previous posters would be the principle that controls the boundary.
That being said, establishing that fact 75 years post the flood event could be problematic in case of a dispute. Particularly more so since it is non-navigable.
The existence of a dried out stream bed is not necessarily proof since it may have been there prior to
the flood event.
So, evidence of the event from 75 years past may be needed. Since 75 years have passed, reliable parole evidence may not exist.
Aerial photography and/or topographic maps could establish the event.
Local deeds that make calls to the creek or other survey documents would be helpful.
Personally, I don't think one can hang their hat, so to speak on an abandoned bed.

Robert Hill, post: 410545, member: 378 wrote: Typically, avulsion as stated by the previous posters would be the principle that controls the boundary.
That being said, establishing that fact 75 years post the flood event could be problematic in case of a dispute. Particularly more so since it is non-navigable.
The existence of a dried out stream bed is not necessarily proof since it may have been there prior to
the flood event.
So, evidence of the event from 75 years past may be needed. Since 75 years have passed, reliable parole evidence may not exist.
Aerial photography and/or topographic maps could establish the event.
Local deeds that make calls to the creek or other survey documents would be helpful.
Personally, I don't think one can hang their hat, so to speak on an abandoned bed.

If he has meanders that run along the dried out creak bed, I think that would be supporting evidence of the fact that the watercourse had avulsed.

Part of arkansas, is east of the mississippi, for this very reason. Somebody can post a pic.

"We conclude as matter of law the boundary follows the present thread of the stream, unless the shift of its channel was sudden and perceptible.
Plaintiff testified such was the fact, that within a few years after his purchase, during a time of unusual freshets within a period of two weeks, nearly all this change was wrought." -Greenfield v. Powell, 218 Ala. 397, 400 (1928), 118 So. 556, 558

Emphasis mine.

Nate The Surveyor, post: 410551, member: 291 wrote: Part of Arkansas, is east of the Mississippi, for this very reason. Somebody can post a pic.

Carter Lake Iowa is west of the Missouri River for this reason too...

Dave Karoly, post: 410554, member: 94 wrote:
Plaintiff testified such was the fact, that within a few years after his purchase, during a time of unusual freshets within a period of two weeks, nearly all this change was wrought." -Greenfield v. Powell, 218 Ala. 397, 400 (1928), 118 So. 556, 558

Emphasis mine.

Freshet is one of my favorite terms for describing flooding as a result of an extreme rain event when the creek overflows it banks.