
Originally Posted by
Danny
That's a great question. I don't know the legal answer 'gurl, but I would assume the answer is no, unless the pond is part of a larger creek or river.
The reason I say this is our land comes right up next to an interstate, yet we can mark the land as "No Trespassing". So if we own a pond that is wholy on our land, and the water that feeds our pond, as is the case here, are three underground streams that come out and feed the pond, then I think we own the water too. the water comes out of our land. Now I know we may not own all the mineral rights, but it seems that once the water comes out, it is not a mineral under the ground, but instead a product of the ground that we own, and we have the right to prevent folks from getting on it.
I would site the law that says if you own a swimming pool you have to have a certain sized fence around it, and the fact that parents can sue if their child drowns in your pool.
Now one of our lakes is about 100 acres. It was owned by Peabody, except the 12 acres on us. Peabody has since sold to a private company that also doesn't want folks back there. It is my understanding that if someone who has the company's permission to get on the lake on their property, I can not deny them access to our 12 acres, just as the company can not deny us access to the other 88 acres, as long as we acess it via water.... e.g. a boat.
Maybe one of the lawyers on here will answer this for us.
Danny