When a person has the right to use water adjacent to their land, this is referred to as?

The concept of having the right to use water that is adjacent to one's land is known as riparian rights. This principle applies to properties that are situated along rivers, streams, or other bodies of water. Under riparian rights, landowners have the right to access and use the water for various purposes, such as irrigation, domestic use, and recreational activities, as long as their use does not negatively impact the water's availability to other users or the natural environment.

In this context, riparian rights are distinct from other terms like navigable, which refers specifically to bodies of water that are deep and wide enough for navigation, and therefore may have different regulatory implications. Effluent generally refers to wastewater discharged from a facility, rather than rights associated with water use. INA, or Indian Navigation Act, pertains to specific federal laws and is unrelated to individual landowner rights regarding adjacent water sources. Thus, riparian is the correct term for the rights related to adjacent water use.