Correlative rights doctrine
Encyclopedia
The correlative rights doctrine is a legal doctrine
limiting the rights of landowners to a common source of groundwater
(such as an aquifer
) to a reasonable share, typically based on the amount of land owned by each on the surface above. This doctrine is also applied to oil and gas
in some U.S. state
s.
Under California
law, the owners of overlying land own the subsurface water as tenants in common, and each is allowed a reasonable amount for his/her own use.
Legal doctrine
A legal doctrine is a framework, set of rules, procedural steps, or test, often established through precedent in the common law, through which judgments can be determined in a given legal case. A doctrine comes about when a judge makes a ruling where a process is outlined and applied, and allows...
limiting the rights of landowners to a common source of groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
(such as an aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
) to a reasonable share, typically based on the amount of land owned by each on the surface above. This doctrine is also applied to oil and gas
Oil and gas law in the United States
Oil and gas law in the United States is the branch of law that pertains to the acquisition and ownership rights in oil and gas both under the soil before discovery and after its capture, and adjudication regarding those rights.- Overview :...
in some U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s.
Under California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
law, the owners of overlying land own the subsurface water as tenants in common, and each is allowed a reasonable amount for his/her own use.