10.10 Underground and Subterranean Water

• Library: Real Estate Practice Deskbook (2019 Ed.)

4. (§10.10) Underground and Subterranean Water

Water rights and liabilities also attach to water found beneath the surface of the earth. Subsurface water is generally classified as either underground streams or percolating water. Differentiating between the two is important because the law applicable to each differs.

An underground stream is defined as "water that passes through or under
the surface in a definite channel or one that is reasonably ascertainable." Higday v. Nickolaus, 469 S.W.2d 859, 865 (Mo. App. W.D. 1971). On the other hand, percolating waters are waters that "pass through the ground beneath the surface . . . without a definite channel and [are] not shown to be supplied by a definite

...