Water rights pertain to the legal rights of property owners to access and use bodies of water adjacent to lands they hold. Different types of water rights exist based on various forms of water that border or exist on a property.

In the U.S., water rights can vary in the eastern and western parts of the country. In general, the western states have historically followed the prior appropriation doctrine, which grants the right to divert water to the first person who started using the water. Most eastern states follow what is known as the riparian doctrine, which limits water use to the owner of the land adjacent to the water.