Riparian rights and obligations

Riparian ownership

Riparian owners have certain rights and responsibilities.

In the case of ditches, streams and rivers, it is the landowners on each side of the watercourse who are responsible for the maintenance of the watercourse itself and the flow within it.

It is not just those who have a watercourse flowing across their land that are affected, but also those with land where the watercourse forms a boundary with another landowner. Their rights and responsibilities even apply where a watercourse passes immediately adjacent to a boundary, even if it is outside the landowners’ ownership, as the flow of the watercourse has the potential to affect this land.

For more information on the extent of riparian ownerships, see Practice Notes:

•
Riparian ownership—rights and responsibilities
•
Riparian owners and fishing rights
•
Property boundaries

Regulating riparian owners

Riparian owners may need permission for some activities from a regulator such as a local authority, internal

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Environment News

Aarhus Convention scope on environmental claims—HM Treasury v GFL

Environment analysis: This case concerns the scope of the Aarhus Convention’s access to justice provisions in the context of a judicial review challenge to UK government decisions implementing the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Specifically, the Court of Appeal was asked to determine whether a claim brought by Global Feedback Ltd (GFL), a charity focused on environmental protection, was an ‘Aarhus Convention claim’ for the purposes of the Civil Procedure Rules and thus entitled to special costs protection. GFL challenged the government’s decision to make regulations giving effect to tariff preferences for Australian imports, arguing that the decision would increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (‘carbon leakage’) and that the government had failed to properly assess this risk, contrary to its obligations under domestic and international law. The key legal issue was whether the relevant statutory provisions (primarily within the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act 2018 and associated regulations, and in particular section 28) were ‘provisions of national law relating to the environment’ within the meaning of Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Convention. Written by Joel Semakula, barrister at Landmark Chambers.

Commission adopts implementing regulation for the EU Digital Waste Shipment System

The European Commission has adopted an implementing regulation under the Waste Shipments Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1157), establishing rules for the Digital Waste Shipment System (DIWASS). DIWASS will become mandatory for all intra-EU waste shipments from 21 May 2026. It will digitise procedures for both notified and green-listed waste shipments, serving as a central system for authorities and economic operators without digital tools, as well as an information exchange hub between local and commercial systems operated by certain Member State authorities and commercial software used by businesses. The Commission will publish technical documentation and user instructions by the end of 2025, with training sessions for national authorities planned for late 2025. The system aims to replace current paper-based procedures and, in the future, may also be used voluntarily by non-EU countries for shipments involving at least one EU Member State.

Environment weekly highlights—3 July 2025

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: the UK High Court's decision in the BHP dam collapse battle that BHP could not block Brazilian municipalities from bringing criminal contempt proceedings, with the court ruling there were reasonable grounds to argue the mining giant was in contempt. In addition this week, the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has launched a UK Climate Resilience Roadmap, the first guidance of its kind to outline how the UK's built environment is increasingly vulnerable to five key climate hazards, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published a Solar Roadmap outlining over 70 actions to support the deployment of 45–47 GW of solar capacity across the UK by 2030, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published an update to its May 2025 response to the sandeel Arbitration Tribunal's final ruling in the UK-Sandeel case, Natural England has published its Action Plan for 2025–26 detailing how it will implement its new Strategic Direction, 'Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security' and PackUK has published a collection of four key documents related to the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) scheme. Further this week, the Environment Agency (EA) has published comprehensive guidance outlining the framework for waste exemptions in England and the National Audit Office (NAO) has published a value for money report, assessing the performance of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) since its introduction in 2021.

UKGBC launches UK Climate Resilience Roadmap

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) launched the UK Climate Resilience Roadmap on 26 June 2025, the first guidance of its kind to outline how the UK’s built environment—including homes, schools, offices, hospitals, parks and infrastructure—is increasingly vulnerable to five key climate hazards: overheating, flooding, drought, wildfires and storms. The roadmap identifies 13 areas across the UK most at risk from extreme weather events, noting that places such as Peterborough and Fairbourne could become ‘likely uninhabitable’ by the end of the century due to flooding. It also identifies regions particularly susceptible to storms, wildfires and drought, and outlines strategies to help adapt buildings for a warmer, wetter future. The guidance calls on the government to treat climate resilience as a national emergency and includes several policy recommendations, such as establishing an Office for Resilience within the Cabinet Office, reinstating the Minister for Resilience, protecting all communities with trees, parks and ponds, and fostering a new generation of green professionals. It also sets out a four-stage framework designed to help built environment professionals integrate climate resilience into decision-making across organisations and project teams.