Riparian Ownership

Are you a riparian owner?

If you have a watercourse* running through your land, underneath your land, or along the boundary of your property, you are likely to be the riparian owner or joint riparian owner; unless the watercourse is known to be owned by someone else.

If the land on the other side of the watercourse is not in your ownership you are presumed to be the joint riparian owner together with the landowner on the other side. In the case of joint riparian ownership each party is presumed to own up to the centre line of the watercourse and therefore is responsible up to this point. If you are unsure whether you are the riparian owner of the watercourse running through your land, check the title deeds of your property.

*A watercourse includes all rivers, streams, drains, ditches, cuts, culverts, dikes, sluices, sewers (other than public sewers) and passages, through which water flows (as defined under the Land Drainage Act 1991).

What are your rights as a riparian owner?

• Water should flow onto or under your land in its natural quantity and quality.

• You have the right to protect your property from flooding and your land from erosion.

These rights are modified by your duty of care to other riparian owners, the rest of the community and to the environment - that is, you must not do anything which harms or affects others downstream of your property.

What are your responsibilities as a riparian owner?

• To pass on flow without obstruction, pollution or diversion affecting the rights of others.

• To accept natural flood flows through your land, even if these are caused by inadequate capacity upstream and/or downstream. A landowner has no duty in common law to improve the drainage capacity of a watercourse.

• To maintain the bed and banks of the watercourse (including any trees and shrubs growing on the banks) and clear any debris, natural or otherwise, including litter and animal carcasses, from the bed and banks, even if it did not originate from your land.

• To keep the surrounds of the watercourse free of loose debris which could be washed into the stream during heavy storms or high flows, causing blockages downstream.

• To keep any structures that you own (for example, culverts, trash screens, weirs, mill gates, bridges) free of debris and ensure they are in good working condition.

• You should always leave a development-free edge on the banks next to a watercourse. This allows for easy access to the watercourse in case any maintenance or inspection is required.

• You must not build a new structure that encroaches upon the watercourse or alters the flow of water without first obtaining permission from Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council or Natural Resources Wales.

• You should not cause obstructions, temporary or permanent, that would obstruct the free passage of fish.

• You are responsible for protecting your property from water that seeps through natural or artificial banks.

Further details on your rights and responsibilities as a riparian owner can be found in Natural Resources Wales guide entitled ‘A guide to your rights and responsibilities of riverside ownership in Wales’.

Our responsibilities to riparian owners

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council are the regulating and consenting body for ordinary watercourses in Rhondda Cynon Taf, which means that for any works that riparian owners may wish to carry out on the watercourse which may affect the flow of water, you will need to gain consent before work begins. Further information on how to obtain Ordinary Watercourse Consent can be found here.

As the consenting authority, we also have rights of enforcement under the Land Drainage Act 1991 to take action if you do not carry out your riparian responsibilities. Further information relating to the Council’s enforcement powers is available on our Land Drainage Enforcement page.

If you have a query regarding riparian ownership, please contact the flood risk team using the contact details below: