Who Owns That Creek
Friday, June 10, 2011
So you want to buy a house that has a beautiful creek babbling behind the back deck. You have marvelous plans to beautify the creek and perhaps build a small pond as well.
Question: Can you do anything to the creek?
Answer: Maybe.
The State actually owns the creek, the water, and is responsible for the quality of the water.
You would own the creek bed and banks that actually fall within your property line. (Some surveys show the property boundary to be the middle of a creek…so, in that situation, you would only ‘own’ that bank that was on your property.) As the owner of that portion of land wherein the creek flows, you are responsible for: making sure the bank(s) are not eroding; maintaining any existing natural habitats; and protecting stream ‘buffers’.
So, before you start digging a pond with the expectations that the creek will fill the pond, you must get State (and sometimes National), approval.
Posted in: Intown Living