I came across the word ‘riparian’ when trying to answer a question about river ownership. I thought I had stumbled across a word used in the film Jurasic Park. But the word describes an important role in managing the health of a river.
As an angler, I have often been made aware of who owns a river through the many signs saying ‘no fishing allowed’. Also, shouts from annoyed landowners when I have transgressed onto their river bank. Even worse is when they run across fields to shout warnings about crossing an imaginary boundary in the middle of a river. However, the matter is clear. The water in the river is not owned, it is a public resource. Parts of a river such as the riverbed and banks are owned, and the owners can have rights to use the water such as abstraction. These rights are regulated by public agencies e.g. the Environment Agency in England. The word riparian describes the land along a river bank and can cover surrounding wetlands and lakes. The term ‘riparian ownership’ identifies the owner of the land.
The riparian owner has various rights such as the use of water for reasonable domestic purposes, and responsibilities such as keeping the bank clear and avoiding pollution. There are several pieces of legislation in place that reinforce this responsibility. They range from Water Resources Act 1991 which governs water quality, pollution control and abstraction, to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which protects species like otters, water voles and certain fish. However, the prosecutions under the network of legislation have resulted in either punitive fines of hundreds of pounds or suspended prison sentences. The Environment Act 2021 strengthens the duties on water companies and regulators to reduce river pollution and introduced a biodiversity net gain requirement that can apply to river habitats in development projects. There has yet to be any specific prosecutions under its provisions. In all of the legislation, riparian ownership is never explicitly defined but is implied through loose descriptions. However, riparian ownership falls under common law and covers issues such as rights to natural flow of water, reasonable use and protection against pollution from other riparian owners.
Walking along many river banks it is clear from their condition that many riparian owners take their responsibility as an inconvenience. But they have an important part to play in the recovery of the health of our rivers. The approach to making riparian ownership more responsible must be based on a combination of support and clearly defined responsibilities. The support can come in two forms: financial through funding such as ELMs to improve riverbank management, water quality and flood management, and best practice from organisations who work with riparian landowners such as the Wye and Usk Foundation and the River Mease Partnership. Responsibility should be strengthened through legislation by clearly defining the responsibilities of the riparian owner and backed up with severe fines for any infringements.
Next time a politician knocks on your door asking for your vote why don’t you ask them how they are going to improve the health of the local rivers, and in particular how the riparian owners are going to be both supported and made accountable for the quality of the river that passes through their land? Why wait until the next general election? - email them today!