What are the incidental property rights of a landowner to withdraw water from a river called?

The incidental property rights of a landowner to withdraw water from a river are known as riparian rights. These rights stem from the principle that landowners whose property is adjacent to a water source, such as a river or stream, have the right to make reasonable use of that water. This includes activities such as irrigation, drinking water, and other necessary uses that benefit the landowner, as long as these activities do not significantly harm the rights of other riparian owners or the waterway itself.

Riparian rights are based on the idea that water is a shared resource and should be accessible to those who own land bordering the water. This legal framework helps ensure that users utilizing the same water source can coexist while addressing conflicts that may arise from competing claims for water usage.

In contrast, groundwater rights pertain to the extraction of water from underground aquifers, and surface water rights typically refer to rights related to bodies of water other than rivers (like lakes or oceans). Water table rights are not a standard legal term used in property rights and may not represent a direct concept within property law. These distinctions clarify the unique nature of riparian rights as they specifically relate to flowing bodies of water, making this choice the correct answer.