Ranger's "thread topic" summary:
There is a dispute going on around this 50+ acre private lake involving an old covenant and new owner. The moral of this story is not to let anyone own any land near your lake if you can avoid it and think twice before buying one if they already do.
(I mentioned this in another PB thread some time ago....) As we looked for the right, pond-able property, we spent alot of time in central Illinois. I happened on a 50 Ac pc with multiple draws converging into one that ran off to begin a creek. When I saw the topo, my heart began to race! There was one huge issue. One of the draws ran up onto a neighboring parcel. If we backed up a pond, the water would back into this narrow draw, over the property line. Our ag. broker, very savvy, warned us that there has already been litigation (presumably in Illinois?) for the exact same scenario. Ultimately, any water over the property line allows access to the entire body of water. We passed on the parcel.
