What legal principle governs the use of water flowing through a property?

The correct answer is the principle of Riparian Rights, which governs the use of water flowing through a property. This legal doctrine applies to landowners whose properties are adjacent to flowing bodies of water, such as rivers and streams. Under Riparian Rights, landowners have the right to make reasonable use of the water, as long as this does not negatively affect other riparian owners downstream.

Riparian Rights are based on the notion that water is a shared resource; therefore, each property owner along a watercourse has access to the water while adhering to the principle of reasonable use. This means that landowners can use the water for various purposes, such as irrigation, but must ensure that their use does not deplete or contaminate the water for others. This legal principle seeks to balance the rights of individual property owners with the rights of the community as a whole.

Other options, while related to water rights, refer to different contexts or types of water use. For instance, the Rule of Capture primarily concerns groundwater rights rather than surface water. Surface Water Rights deal with the ownership and use of water on the land's surface, which could be relevant but does not specifically address the flowing water scenarios governed by Riparian Rights. Littoral Rights pertain to properties