Which term describes rights to use water that flows by land along streams?

• A. Littoral Rights
• B. Riparian-Rights Doctrine
• C. Easement
• D. Riparian Rights

Answer: (D)

Riparian rights describe the rights to use water that flows by land along streams. These rights are attached to land that borders a flowing watercourse, giving the property owner the ability to make reasonable use of that water while respecting the rights of others downstream. They are an appurtenance of the land and pass with title, subject to reasonable-use limits and non-wasteful use.

Littoral rights, by contrast, pertain to standing bodies of water like lakes or seas. An easement is a separate right to use someone else’s land for a specific purpose, not to own or use the water itself. The riparian-rights doctrine is the governing concept describing how these water-use rights operate, but the term for the rights themselves is riparian rights.