Responsibilities: ditches and riparian owners

Watercourse/riparian responsibility

Where a watercourse runs adjacent to or through your land you are a 'riparian landowner'. Watercourse is the collective term for both ordinary watercourses and main rivers. An ordinary watercourse is a river, stream, brook, ditch, drainage channel, culvert, or any other channel through which water may flow which is not designated as a main river. For more information on ordinary watercourses and main rivers see our land drainage and ordinary watercourses page.

Riparian owners have the responsibility to manage their own flood risk. If you are a riparian owner, It is important that you understand the risks of flooding in your local area, on your land and at your property, as well as what to do if there is a flood.

Advice regarding the rights and responsibilities of riparian landowners is available online at the following links:

• 'Your watercourse: rights and roles' from the Environment Agency
• 'Owning a watercourse' on GOV.UK
• 'Riparian Owners' on The Flood Hub
• 'Riparian Ownership basic guide to owning and managing a watercourse' on The Flood Hub

Riparian owner rights

The following is a summary of the main points associated with riparian ownership rights:

• If your land boundary is next to a watercourse it is assumed you own the land up to the centre of the watercourse, unless it is owned entirely by someone else.
• If you own land with a watercourse running through or underneath it, it is assumed you own the stretch of watercourse that runs through your land.
• In exceptional circumstances a watercourse may be the responsibility of a third party (such as a Risk Management Authority like West Berkshire Council, or the Environment Agency) though this should be acknowledged in your property ownership details.
• Water should flow onto or under your land in its natural quantity and quality. You should avoid diverting or taking excess water from the watercourse (see Environment Agency advice regarding permissible abstraction on page 11 of their PDF), or carrying out any activities that might pollute the watercourse/negatively impact water quality. 
• You have the right to protect your property from flooding and your land from erosion. However, you must get any plans to protect your property agreed with the relevant Risk Management Authority before you start work. If the watercourse in question is a main river, contact the Environment Agency and if it is an ordinary watercourse, contact West Berkshire Council.

Riparian owner responsibilities

The following is a summary of the main points associated with riparian responsibilities:

• You are required to allow water to flow onto or beneath your land without obstruction, pollution, or diversion that interferes with the rights of others. Other landowners also have the right to receive water in its natural quantity and quality, as outlined in the "Riparian owner rights" section above. It is important to note that all riparian owners share the same rights and responsibilities.
  • Piped watercourses and culverts should be kept free of obstruction which means any blockages must be cleared. This includes root ingress, debris or collapse.
     
• You must allow floodwaters to pass through your land, even if they result from insufficient capacity downstream. Under common law, a landowner is not obligated to enhance the drainage capacity of a watercourse they own without permission.
  • This may seem contradictory to rights which allow homeowners to protect their property from flooding, but generally your actions must not increase flood risk or erosion to other people's property or land, either directly or by impacting other sources of flooding. Flood resilience measures which protect your house/business will generally be considered acceptable.
     
• You should keep the banks clear of anything that could cause an obstruction and increase flood risk, either on your land or downstream if it is washed away. You are responsible for maintaining the bed and banks of the watercourse and the trees and shrubs growing on the banks. You should also clear any natural or man made debris from the channel and banks, even if they did not come from your land.
  • You should ensure you do not disturb certain species or habitats on the banks or in the watercourse. This includes, but is not limited to, birds and their nests and spawning/eggs of salmon, trout, and other fish.
  • You should take action to prevent invasive species, such as Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam, or giant hogweed, from spreading into the wild or on to neighbour's land.
  • You should avoid the use of chemicals including harmful herbicides when attempting to control weeds. Contact the Environment Agency if you are unsure about the use of herbicides.

Flooding, or pollution incidents due to a landowners failure to adhere to their riparian responsibilities may result in legal action being taken against them by the relevant risk management authority (in most circumstances West Berkshire Council or the Environment Agency).

Working near watercourses

You may need permission to carry out any works which impact the watercourse. You must ensure that you have the correct permits and consents before carrying out works.

• Any works in, over, under or within 9 metres of a Main River, must have consent/appropriate permits from the Environment Agency: 'Flood risk activities: environmental permits' on GOV.UK.
• Any works in or around Ordinary Watercourses need formal consent from West Berkshire Council - see our ordinary watercourse consent page.
• Works on a watercourse may also require planning permission. West Berkshire Council, acting as the local planning authority, will be able to advise on this matter.
• Contaminated waste from watercourses may be categorised as 'Medium Level Hazardous Waste', so it is necessary to obtain advice on disposal from the Environment Agency.
• A number of species, as well as all nesting birds, are protected by law. Disturbing them is a serious criminal offence, so further advice should be sought from natural England and/or the local wildlife trust.
• Landowners should also ensure they adhere to good health and safety practices when carrying out any work to watercourses. Any operators working in potentially dangerous environments (fast flowing water, highways, etc.) should be suitably qualified and trained to carry out the works.
   

Ditches

Ditches are artificial channels typically located along the edges of fields. Unlike rivers and streams, which are formed by natural processes, ditches are man-made features.

These channels are often integral components of larger drainage networks, helping to direct surface water runoff or drain water from fields into other watercourses (though in some instances they may simply facilitate attenuation and infiltration of surface water into the ground).

In West Berkshire ditches are essential to managing runoff from fields in rural areas, helping to protect the highway networks and neighbouring land. Failure to maintain ditch networks can result in flooding and damage to ecology, or the environment.

Ditches also play a crucial role in supporting wildlife. They act as corridors, enabling species to move between different areas, and often harbor rare plant species.

Whilst ditches do have riparian responsibilities associated with them (as discussed above) there can sometimes be confusion with respect to who should be maintaining the ditch particularly in locations adjacent to highways. West Berkshire Council have produced guidance to explain our position on ditch responsibility.

How to manage ditches

DEFRA has issued advice to farmers (applicable to all landowners) on the creation and maintenance of ditches.

To summarise the main points to consider when maintaining banks are:

• Cut banks between September and April to avoid bird nesting season. In order to facilitate habitats for wildlife consider the length of vegetation and frequency of cutting. 
• Remove silt and debris between September and April to avoid bird nesting season. Try to ensure that the dimensions of the ditch are maintained at their original levels. Depending on the quantity, silt can be disposed of by spreading thinly on the bank edge unless there is reason to believe that the material is contaminated (in which case it should be tested and disposed of in accordance with Environment Agency advice).
• Maintain water quality be conscious of the impact that farming practices can have on any ditches that neighbour agricultural land.  Take steps to stop manure, fertiliser or soil getting into water bodies.
• Control weeds by taking actions to prevent the spread of harmful invasive species. Consult with the Environment Agency before using harmful herbicides.

If there is an urgent need to carry out ditch maintenance (for example, to protect people or critical infrastructure) it may be necessary to carry out essential/emergency maintenance against best practice as highlighted above, however all attempts should be made to take into consideration environmental/ecological factors where possible.

Grip maintenance is not included in the measures above.