Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Landowner water rights

I own land in northern Alabama. My land has a small creek that runs through the middle. Can a landowner who lives upstream from me build a pond from this creek? Secondly, will it greatly affect the water flow of the creek. If so, can I do anything about it? Thanks

hey boomer, interesting topic. just to get a conversation started, would like to see some educated responses on this. you might check with your local County offices to see what kind if any easements or restrictions apply to year-round creeks.

on your second question, it depends if he will use entire flow for his pond or only divert some of it. With the entire flow used, creek on your property would go dry til pond reaches full pool.

My only reference for this scenario is out here in CA. to my knowledge, all perennial creeks in the foothills, and many seasonal creeks are protected watershed and carry a 100 foot no building easement, so any pond construction across creek would (now) be illegal. My pond is constructed across a seasonal creek with such restrictions, but was built a long time ago (before the environmental protection laws and building easements were instituted).

In Nebraska, no matter how large my pond is, or how much I spent on it, the landowner who is higher on the watershed can build any pond he wants. The only restrictions would be that a permit is necessary for any pond that will hold more than 15 acre-feet of water.

The only way to tell if it will affect your pond is to do an analysis of watershed size, soil permeabilities, soil slopes and annual precipitation. This could tell you if there is enough flow-through on the pond above to keep your pond adequately supplied.

In some cases it's no problem, in other cases it's a deal breaker. Actually in some cases it could even be an advantage if you had a relatively large watershed and you could let your neighbor collect all of your silt for you.

In Ohio (to the best of my knowledge) the main restriction on what you can do to flowing water on your property is that you can't change where it leaves or enters the property. So you can put in a pond, but the overflow must leave the property the same place the water did before (at least when the overflow is running). Then there are maximum size limits for building a pond without a permit.

Of course, what you really need is Alabama info.

Just thought it was worth repeating, good thought Bruce.

Following on RPI's comments, it would be good to know both upstream and downstream neighbors (maybe I've missed some story in here) but work together to make that little creek allow everybody to have their pond and eat it too. If the creek flows year round, upstream pond will fill, and yours will too, just may take a while.

I have been told that here in Ontario you cannot "impede" the flow of water without a permit which is hard to get. You cannot build a dam blocking a year round or seasonal waterway and even culverts require approval on a flowing stream. You can however, divert some water from a stream to a pond with the overflow running back into the stream with no pollutants added(this includes heat) but you had better check with the MNR in each case. Beavers are not required to obtain these permits however.....

Here in Indiana we are not allowed to divert waterways either regardless of if they are on private land.

Everyone, thanks for your reply and information on the subject.

Robinson, yes, I am planning on building a pond but it will not be off the creek nor will I divert the creek onto my pond. Secondly, none of my neighbors have built a pond upstream from me. I am just poising the question to get an understanding of water rights.

To find out more information on this matter, I decided to email the ADCNR/Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division. Here is what they said:

No net loss of stream or wetland functions should occur as a result of the project. Adverse functional impacts may result from physical impacts to a stream or wetland, or from the alteration of a stream's natural flow regime or the impairment of wetland hydrology. Adverse stream impacts requiring mitigation may include accelerated siltation resulting from improper construction or erosion control practices, stream realignment, flow diversion or interruption, the placement of riprap or other fill in the streambed in such a way that habitat functions are impaired or fish movement is impeded under low flow conditions, and other modifications of habitat or hydrology which reduce the density or diversity of aquatic species. If flowing streams, ditches, or wetlands will be impacted by the proposed activity, the Mobile District, Army Corps of Engineers should be contacted at 251-690-3188 to determine if the activity falls under a Corps regulation requiring mitigation for adverse ecological, morphological, or hydrological impacts.

You do and you'll never have a pond.

Jersey, My immediate thought was "OH NO, you E-Mailed who?"

Quick! Find a new internet provider, new email address and change your name.