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When one owns property on Simonton or any other lake in Indiana, it is a good idea to get along with ones neighbors.  Too often, there are disputes over boundaries. You may know where the "stakes" are, the terminology for property lines, as well as how far from those lines you may build within the law. However, do you know your "property lines" in the water? These are the riparian boundaries governed in the state of Indiana by something called riparian rights.

What are riparian rights? They are the rights associated with property owners abutting rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. There are sometimes disputes over the use of water in front of those properties.  Here is the key line in this article; Riparian rights are those special rights relating to the use of water in waterway adjoining an owner’s property.

In this article, we are going to look at the riparian rights of the waterfront owner on Simonton Lake. So, before you go down the street and ask Judge Shewmaker to make a ruling, or ask him to beat up your neighbor because of pier placement (It’s too late anyway. The judge retired at the end of 2016 after 18 years on the bench), read this information.

One of the most pervasive types of boundary disputes on Simonton Lake has to do with the placement of piers. 

Let’s say you have just purchased a property on the lake and you want to place a pier in the water in front of your property. By law, you have rights, and so do your neighbors. As you place your pier, you may build it out to the line of navigability within your riparian zone which is the area in the water in front of the riparian owner’s (your) property.  

Within the riparian zone, you have the exclusive rights to placement of a pier. In shallow water, a pier may be longer than one placed in deeper areas.  The legal length depends on the depth of the water in front of your property. 

 Your riparian zone is determined by your location on the lake.

• If you are on a stretch of land with no cove, curve or other factor that may determine the angle of your pier, you are fortunate. You need concern yourself only with the position of your pier to allow your neighbors room to navigate between your pier and his.
• If your property is in an area where the angle of your pier may cause a problem with your neighbor’s ability to get his boat in and out, you will want to create an equitable placement of piers with adjoining owners. The shape of the lake where you live, and the angle at which the on-shore boundaries intersect with the shore, figure into the legal placement of your pier. Your goal should be to create an equitable distribution of the riparian zones between adjoining owners.

If agreement cannot be reached on riparian rights, you should contact the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. They will become involved and force action that will resolve the issue. There are reasons you may not want to include the DNR in your dispute. There are very strict laws that rule the placement of piers.

Here are some guidelines that must be respected. In general, private resident piers must meet the following criteria:

1. Must be temporary installations only
2. Easily removable
3. Must not infringe on access to the lake by an adjacent landowner
4. Must not unduly restrict navigation by watercraft
5. Must not be unusually wide or long relative to similar structures within the vicinity on the same lake
6. Must be placed by or with the acquiescence of a riparian owner.

If the water depth, extending from the shoreline is six feet or less, maximum pier length is 150 feet.

If the water depth exceeds six feet continuously after reaching 75 feet from the shoreline, maximum pier length is 75 feet.

If the water depth varies, but is not continuously more than six feet in depth from the shoreline extending out to 150 feet, then the maximum pier length is 150 feet.

If you want more information, we will be happy to research for you.  You may also go the Indiana Department of Natural Resources website: https://in.gov/dnr