Implication of Dam Removal And Riparian Rights

Implication of Dam Removal
And Riparian Rights
1

Riparian Rights
Riparian: Of or pertaining to or situated or fronting on a
river, stream, lake or pond.
(Sometimes used interchangeably with the term littoral.)
With regards to real property it may refer to those rights
appertaining to or limiting land fronting on a water body.
Those rights may include the extent of ownership, rights
to take the water or water power from the water body,
the right to navigate or restrict navigation adjacent to the
property and the rights of others including the public to
utilize the water and the water body.
2

Thus, in considering this subject, we find the public right of
way over the stream, and the land owner's right of soil under it, and
his right to use its flow. The rights of both these parties are
necessary for the purposes of commerce, agriculture, and
manufactures. The products of the forest would be of little value if
the riparian proprietors have no right to raise the water by dams and
erect mills for the manufacture of these products into lumber. The
right to use the water of such streams for milling purposes, is as
necessary as the right of transportation. Indeed, it is this
consideration that oftentimes imparts the chief value to the estate of
the riparian proprietors, and without which it would have no value
whatever in many instances. Each right is the handmaid of
civilization; and neither can be exercised without, in some degree,
impairing the other. This conflict of rights, therefore, must be
reconciled.
LANCEY v. CLIFFORD, 54 Me. 487 (1867)
11

In case of fresh water streams, when
such stream is the boundary, the deed
passes the fee to its centre. (ad medium
filum aquae - the thread)
... the thread of a stream is the middle line
between the shores, irrespective of the
depth of the channel, taking it in the
natural and ordinary stage of water. The
channel and the thread of the river are
entirely different.
The channel is the deepest part of the
river.
Warren v. Thomaston, 75 Me. 329, 332 (1883)
31

“Thence along land of Jones
Timber Co. 230 rods to the
river; Thence northerly
along the river 50 rods to
land of Farmer Smith, ....”
“Thence along land of Jones
Timber Co. 230 rods to the
bank of the river; Thence
northerly along the bank of
the river 50 rods to land of
Farmer Smith, ....”
Lowell v. Robinson, 16 Me. 357 (1839)
32

But prima facie... the general rule must be to take lines, at right
angles with the course of the stream, to its thread or middle
line.
The object is to give to each riparian proprietor an equal share
of the bed of the river, in proportion to his line on the margin
of the stream, together with that portion of the bed of the
stream, which lies opposite, in front of, or adjacent to, his
upland; and this, in the absence of any controlling grant, will
be effected by the straight lines, at right angles, which will in
general be the shortest and most direct lines, to the thread of
the stream. And we cannot perceive how this consideration
can be influenced by the shape of the upland lot, or by the
direction of its side lines back from the river.
Knight vs. Wilder, 56 Mass. 199 (1848); 2 Cush. 199 (1848)
40

OTHER AND RELATED ISSUES TO DAM
REMOVAL AND ALTERATIONS
Natural Deterioration And Structural Decline
Drainage Alteration During Construction Or
Maintenance – Dredging, Filling Etc.
Obligations To Maintain & Financial Burden
Title Transfer
Permitting Issues – Local, State, Federal
Aesthetic Issues
Large Ponds Or Lakes When Waters Recede
43