dumb legal question

[Bartdog]

so the weekend actually started off great, with a kayaking trip to nearby Spring Creek near Bainbridge, GA. While up there we found a couple of springs that fed the creek. One of them was "guarded" by a sign saying that the water from that point on was private property and going any further was trespassing.

I thought that any navigable waterway was public domain. At the same time I really didn't want to get shot, so we turned around and didn't explore that particular stretch of the creek. What say ye. LR? Is it OK to block off a creek like that?

 

[VirginiaNole]

I assume your in a tidal creek. Navigability and Riparian Rights are complicated topics. You are correct in that you should be able to transit a navigable waterway, unless, the property/water was originally conveyed by a grant of the king way back when.

Does that make sense?

Here in Virginia, along tidal areas, the property line is mean low water unless, as stated above, the original grant from the property included coves rivers etc. Then the bottom/water is private property.

 

[Fijimn]

You were canoeing in the Georgia back-country? Did you learn nothing from Deliverance? I don't even stop to use the bathroom in Georgia.

 

[funksouljon]

You were canoeing in the Georgia back-country? Did you learn nothing from Deliverance? I don't even stop to use the bathroom in Georgia.

Seems like another reason to watch the refresher.

Not an attorney, but I thought if not tidal, should be allowed to navigate if you don't have to touch ground. I'd ask the local sheriff. Does this fall into the category of "I'd rather be alive and wrong than being dead right"?

 

[seminoledq]

Be careful. Georgia is a "Stand Your Kayak" state.

 

[KitingHigh]

In the strictest sense navigable waters can be accessed from the ocean.

§ 329.4 General definition.
Navigable waters of the United States are those waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce. A determination of navigability, once made, applies laterally over the entire surface of the waterbody, and is not extinguished by later actions or events which impede or destroy navigable capacity.

In GA navigable waterway means you can carry cargo along it. A stream that you can't drive a decent sized boat or barge on doesn't count:

b. Navigable

If the boundary is a navigable river or stream, the boundary line only extends to the low-water mark of the riverbed. O.C.G.A. § 44-8-5. The term "navigable stream" means a stream which is capable of transporting boats loaded with freight in the regular course of trade either for the whole or a part of the year. Id. Mere rafting of timber or transporting wood in small boats does not make a river navigable. Givens v. Ichauway, Inc., 268 Ga. 710, 492 S.E.2d 148 (1997)This provision is not applicable to ocean tidewaters, nor to any bay, estuary, or arm of the sea. Formerly, the law held that if the tide did not ebb and flow in the river, the boundary was the middle, but the Code changed that.

https://www.jbwpc.com/Zoning-and-La...ES-WHAT-ARE-YOUR-RIGHTS-AND-LIABILITIES.shtml

 

[Random_John]

Ask the folks in Walton County about water and land and who can be where. They will set you straight.

 

[seminole97]

Didn’t they cover this at the end of Ozark, season 1?

 

[funksouljon]

Didn’t they cover this at the end of Ozark, season 1?

Don't know, only 5 episodes in. Need to get caught up.

 

[OrlandNole]

You were canoeing in the Georgia back-country? Did you learn nothing from Deliverance? I don't even stop to use the bathroom in Georgia.

Have you ever heard the OP squeal like a pig?

 

[Bartdog]

Have you ever heard the OP squeal like a pig?

 

[rymoreau]

There is some case law in Florida that pertains to the ownership of the "water column" if the waterway was man-made or was not a navigable water prior to statehood. In other cases if it is a narrow tributary and a private owner owns both sides of the water and also the submerged bottom then they would also possibly own the waterway. It really is a case by case basis. I assume Georgia would be similar.

 

[bigmamanole]

so the weekend actually started off great, with a kayaking trip to nearby Spring Creek near Bainbridge, GA. While up there we found a couple of springs that fed the creek. One of them was "guarded" by a sign saying that the water from that point on was private property and going any further was trespassing.

I thought that any navigable waterway was public domain. At the same time I really didn't want to get shot, so we turned around and didn't explore that particular stretch of the creek. What say ye. LR? Is it OK to block off a creek like that?

Did you put in at the Brinson bridge by chance? If so how far down do you think you were?

 

[gwgwi]

George’s laws regarding water access rights are substantially different from Florida. Learned that trout fishing up in north Georgia