Water Boundaries

James A. Simpson has penned some of the most complete volumes of information on Water boundaries. Much of this is incorporated into the new BLM manual Chapter 8.

Nothing i can think of on line.

In print, "Water Boundaries" by George Cole comes to mind, although it may be out of print.

Also, if not buying, what about public or university libraries?

Jimmy,

As the Cowboy mentioned, if you are enrolled in a college or university, the library should have online searches of a myriad of scholarly databases, I know mine does and I use them frequently.

Tim

Water boundaries are very much "state specific".

I'd start here:

http://eerc.ra.utk.edu/divisions/wrrc/water_supply/chapter3.htm

I wouldn't rely on a general text or even Clark. Hopefully a google search will bring up some more "riparian rights" specific to your needs.

The very general common law principle holds that adjoiners to navigable streams own the bed to the median line of the stream. See Gavit v. Chambers & Coats.

You really need to look to your state case law.

Thanks for the information guys. I do have a couple of the publications that TAPS has put out with our case law. I feel okay with the projects, it's just not an area that I deal with everyday. I just want to brush up on the basics.

I just pulled my copies of Evidence and Procedures (2nd ed) and Boundary Control and Legal Principles (2nd ed). I also have Clark on Surveying ad Boundaries (4th ed).

Just a few things....
navigable vs. non-navigable, who controls the bed of the river and/or the water, what about mineral rights in the river bed, local vs. state vs. federal, protected river corridor regulations, limits of private ownership....

And consider yourself lucky that you are not having to deal with all the issues surrounding tidal water boundaries.

Good luck and keep us posted.

EDIT: I assume you are dealing with rivers...

Water Boundaries by Cole can be found on Amazon, either in printed form of for the Kindle.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I will be checking out all the suggestions.

The water boundaries that I may be dealing with are an old river chute that may be a common boundary between two properties, and partitioning out some lakefront lots that will come out of a property that encomasses about 80% of an oxbow lake.

We'll see how things go. Hopefully I'll get the jobs.

I agree with Carl Zeiss. They really vary state to state.

If the survey is in Arkansas, read the chapter, Riparian Boundaries in "Legal Principles of Boundary Location for Arkansas" by Elgin and Knowles.

> If the survey is in Arkansas, read the chapter, Riparian Boundaries in "Legal Principles of Boundary Location for Arkansas" by Elgin and Knowles.

A Great suggestion, Dick. Welcome to the board.

DDSM

Thanks for the suggestion. I have that book on my shelf. It helped a great deal when I was studying for my Arkansas license.

The projects are in Tennessee.

Unless one practices in the coastal areas of Florida, I would not recommend Cole's book. It is old and miss-named. Simpson's book is a fine general reference; however, I would not apply any of the legal principles unless verified for your state. Some of the information presented is not correct for Missouri or Arkansas.

Law of the Seashore Waters and Water Courses, Maine and Massachusetts by Moses M. Frankel is a good one, particularly for Me and MA.

I think it's important to understand other jurisdictions philosophies and determine if anything may be applicable to your situation...

Dtp

I found this book review of the book you cite. The review is not favorable.

http://mainelaw.maine.edu/academics/maine-law-review/pdf/vol21_2/vol21_me_l_rev_253.pdf

ouch, that's a harsh review for sure! Thanks for the information...