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Watercourses

What is a Watercourse?

A watercourse is a river, stream, ditch (whether dry or not), pond, drain, culvert or pipe through which water may flow.

The types of watercourse are:

• Main River
  These are supervised by the Environment Agency. There are five main rivers in Salisbury: the Avon, the Bourne, the Ebble (as far as Broadchalke), the Nadder (as far as Tisbury) and the Wylye.
• Ordinary Watercourse
  All other rivers and streams fall under this category.
• Exceptions
  Public surface water sewers – these are drainage systems, usually piped, which are maintained by the water supplier.
  Highway drains – culverts under public roads, piped roadside ditches or other drainage which has been specifically built to drain the highway. These are maintained by the Highway Authority.

Who owns the watercourse?

The person who owns the land adjacent to a watercourse is called a 'riparian owner'. They normally own the land to the centre of the watercourse even though it may not be included in the property deeds.

A riparian owner has a responsibility to:

• maintain the watercourse so that the free flow of water is not impeded
• accept the natural flow from upstream and pass it on without obstruction, pollution or diversion
• permit the free passage of fish

A riparian owner may not carry out any work, other than maintenance, in or adjacent to a watercourse without the consent of the Environment Agency.

Consent would be required for a dam, weir, headwall, pond, or bridge in or over a watercourse, or to pipe or culvert in a ditch. Such consent would be needed in addition to any planning or building regulation approval.

Roadside Ditches

The maintenance of these is normally the responsibility of the adjoining landowner and not the Highway Authority. If road flooding occurs as a result of obstruction in these ditches the Highway Authority may exercise its legal powers to require the riparian owner to clear the ditch.