Title to non-navigable and private streams or rivers belongs to which type of owner?

In the context of land and water rights, title to non-navigable and private streams or rivers is typically held by the riparian owner, who is the landowner whose property borders the stream or river. This principle is rooted in the doctrine of riparian rights, which grants these owners certain rights to use the water that flows through or adjacent to their property.

Riparian owners enjoy rights such as access to the water, the ability to use it for irrigation or other domestic purposes, and the right to maintain the banks of the stream. Because non-navigable waters are not considered public highways for commerce or navigation, the rights to these waters usually fall directly to the riparian owners.

This contrasts with the other options, where a public owner would pertain to navigable waters that are accessible for public use, property owners may have generic rights pertaining to their own land but not specifically to the waterways, while mineral owners are concerned with the rights to minerals beneath the land rather than rights related to surface water or streams. Thus, focusing on the rights directly associated with non-navigable waterways clarifies that the rightful title belongs to the riparian owner.