Is the Etowah considered USACOE property?

Josey

Senior Member
Does the Corps Of Engineers own the Etowah River starting several miles below Allatoona? Anyone ever see signs or the red-banded trees along the river in that area?
 

cophunter308

Senior Member
I've not seen any signs around Euharlee or Cartersville. There are a lot of different property owners that have their property posted. Not sure who owns the river.
 

Josey

Senior Member
I didn't see any COE markings either. Good to know that I was (apparently) legal. And since I didn't fall off of my SUP, I didn't even have to take apart and dry out my Glock when I got home. :D
 

markland

Senior Member
As far as I know Corp land is only around reservoirs and does not extend to river sections. They only manage the lakes themselves.
 

SASS249

Senior Member
The general answer is that the water belongs to the state but the property over which it flows belongs to the landowner. On all but a very few rivers in Georgia this means that the property owner along the river owns to the middle of it.

The COE does not own the Etowah in any sense. They do have regulatory jurisdiction over dredging or filling in the river.

We have very few rivers in Georgia that meet the federal definition of navigable, despite what some people will tell you. It is a much higher bar than being able to float a load of something downstream. This is the reason we have multiple court decisions allowing property owners to restrict access to certain rivers, like the Soque.
 

natureman

Senior Member
The COE owns and manages the land and shoreline surrounding Allatoona as well as the land under the lake. At the various county courthouses the owner is listed at United States of America. You can view the property boundary line at http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missi...eline-Management/Maps-and-Zoning-Allocations/

You are correct that they don't own the water in the lake but they do control the water storage capacity as well as charge for water withdraw by city and counties.
 

Josey

Senior Member
The general answer is that the water belongs to the state but the property over which it flows belongs to the landowner. On all but a very few rivers in Georgia this means that the property owner along the river owns to the middle of it.

The COE does not own the Etowah in any sense. They do have regulatory jurisdiction over dredging or filling in the river.

We have very few rivers in Georgia that meet the federal definition of navigable, despite what some people will tell you. It is a much higher bar than being able to float a load of something downstream. This is the reason we have multiple court decisions allowing property owners to restrict access to certain rivers, like the Soque.

Oh yeah - I recall a bunch of that junk, from when I paddle whitewater. I haven't followed it for several years, but things got pretty nasty with some property owners back then. At that time, the key phrase was "navigable", which at that time seemed to mean, "able to allow the floating of a barge". Things got quite heated, and at that time the only thing that really mattered was if someone owned land on both sides of the river or creek. In that case, for the most part, the owner could restrict whomever wanted to float through his/her land.

On the topic of USACOE carry ban, there might be some extremely good news forthcoming. For firearms owners in GA who are members of GCO, most of you are now aware that things could finally be looking good for us to be able to carry on most GA lakes, and a bunch of other places.

If you carry a firearm in GA and are not a member of GCO, then you should join. Like right now. Best $21 you could ever spend.
 

todd

Senior Member
Below the dam the property line is almost even with the boatramp at Riverside park. You can see the Red boundary straight across from the ramp on the far bank. Above the lake they own almost to downtown canton, but that's part of the flood control aspect for which the lake was built.
 

MudDucker

Moderator
Staff member
The general answer is that the water belongs to the state but the property over which it flows belongs to the landowner. On all but a very few rivers in Georgia this means that the property owner along the river owns to the middle of it.

The COE does not own the Etowah in any sense. They do have regulatory jurisdiction over dredging or filling in the river.

We have very few rivers in Georgia that meet the federal definition of navigable, despite what some people will tell you. It is a much higher bar than being able to float a load of something downstream. This is the reason we have multiple court decisions allowing property owners to restrict access to certain rivers, like the Soque.

Actually, in Georgia, the owner of the bed of the pond or stream own the water over the water as well, subject to downstream riparian rights and government regulation. Riparian rights are a very interesting legal topic.
 
Top