Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

Artificial watercourse

see watercourse.

Backwater

Water in a stream that, because of a dam or obstruction, cannot flow forward and sometimes flows back.

Tidewater

Water that falls and rises with the ebb and flow of the tide. ( The term is not usu. applied to the open sea, but to coves, bays, and rivers.

Wastewater

1. Water that escapes from the canals, ditches, or other receptacles of the lawful claimant; water that is not used by the appropriator and is permitted to run off the appropriator's property. 2. Water that is left over, esp. after a chemical or manufacturing process.

Water

. 1. The transparent liquid that is a chemical compound of hydrogen and oxygen (H20). 2. A body of this liquid, as in a stream, river, lake, or ocean.

Watercourse

A body of water flowing in a reasonably definite channel with bed and banks. - Also termed waterway. "Once water joins a watercourse it becomes subject to state control; in appropriation states it becomes available for appropriation to private uses according to state law . . . . [A] watercourse could be defined to include not only rivers and lakes, but every tiny brook flowing into them, all the gullies through which water flows to the brooks, the anowpack and rainfall that feed them, and the evaporating or transpiring water in the process of forming clouds. But we need not require scientists to trace water to such remote sources because it would be beyond the ability of governments to regulate these sources. Legal definitions are intended to define a point beyond which a state does not regulate water use. Usually that point is when water is not in a 'natural stream'." David H. Getchea, Water Law in a Nutshell 106-107 (3d ed. 1997).

Watergage

n. 1. A seawall. 2. An instrument used to measure water.

Watergavel

n. Hist. A fee paid for a benefit (such as fishing) obtained from a body of water.

Watermark

1. A mark indicating the highest or lowest point to which water rises or falls.

Waterpower

1. The force obtained by-converting water into energy. 2. The riparian owner's right consisting of the fall in the stream as it passes over or through the riparian owner's land; the difference of the level between the surface where the stream first touches one's land and the surface where the water leaves the land.

Waterscape

n. An aqueduct or passage for water. waterway. See WATERCOURSE,

ancient watercourse

A watercourse in a channel that has existed from time immemorial

and workers'-compensation claims arising out of commerce on or over water. - Also termed (in senses 2 & 3) admiralty law. - admiralty, adj.

artificial watercourse

A man-made watercourse, usu. to be used only temporarily. ( If the watercourse is of a permanent character and has been maintained for a sufficient length of time, it may be considered a natural watercourse to which riparian rights can attach. "An artificial waterway or stream may, under some circumstances, have the characteristics and incidents of a natural watercourse. In determining the question, three things seem generally to be taken into consideration by the courts: (1) whether the way or stream is temporary or permanent; (2) the circumstances under which it was created; and (3) the mode in which it has been used and enjoyed." 78 Am. Jur. 2d Waters § 196, at 644 (1975).

bluewater seaman.

See able-bodied seaman under SEAMAN.

coast water

Tidewater navigable by an ocean vessel; all water opening directly or indirectly into the ocean and navigable by a vessel coming in from the ocean. - Also termed coastal water.

cold-water ordeal

See ORDEAL.

developed water

Water brought to the surface and made available for use by the party claiming the water rights.

diffused surface water

Water, such as rainfall runoff, that collects and flows on the ground but does not form a watercourse. ( Surface water is usu. subject to different regulations from water flowing in a watercourse. - Often shortened to surface water. See COMMON-ENEMY DOCTRINE; WATERCOURSE.

duty of water

The amount of water necessary to irrigate a given tract. duty on import. See import duty under DUTY (4).

excess water

Water that is flowing in a stream in addition to what may be termed adjudicated waters; any water not needed for the reasonable beneficial uses of those having priority rights. - Also termed surplus water.

floodwater

. Water that escapes from a watercourse in large volumes and flows over adjoining property in no regular channel. foreign water. Water belonging to another nation or subject to another jurisdiction.

floodwater.

See WATER.

headwater.

1. (usu. pl.) The part of a river or stream that is closest to its source. 2. HEADSTREAM.

hell-or-high-water clause.

A clause in a personal-property lease requiring the lessee to continue to make full rent payments to the lessor even if the thing leased is unsuitable, defective, or destroyed.

hell-or-high-water rule.

1. The principle that a personal-property lessee must pay the full rent due, regardless of any claim against the lessor, unless the lessee proves unequal bargaining power or unconscionability. 2. Insurance. The principle that an insured's automobile-liability policy will cover the insured while using a vehicle owned by another if the insured uses the vehicle in a manner within the scope of the permission granted.

high-water line

See high-water mark under WATER MARK.

high-water mark

1. The shoreline of a sea reached by the water at high tide. ( The high-water mark is usu. computed as a mean or average high tide and not as the extreme height of the water. 2. In a freshwater lake created by a dam in an unnavigable stream, the highest point on the shore to which the dam can raise the water in ordinary circumstances. 3. In a river not subject to tides, the line that the river impresses on the soil by covering it long enough to deprive it of agricultural value. - Also termed high-water line.

high-water mark.

See WATER MARK.

hot-water ordeal.

See ORDEAL.

implied-reservation-of-water doctrine

A legal doctrine permitting the federal government to use and control, for public purposes, water appurtenant to federal lands. See EMINENT DOMAIN.

inland waters

See INTERNAL WATERS.

internal waters

See INTERNAL WATERS.

low-water mark

1. The shoreline of a sea marking the edge of the water at the lowest point of the ordinary ebb tide. 2. In a river, the point to which the water recedes at its lowest stage. 2. The transparent design or symbol seen when paper is held up to the light, usu. to indicate the genuineness of the document or the document's manufacturer. water ordeal. See ORDEAL.

natural watercourse

See WATERCOURSE.

navigable water

See NAVIGABLE WATER.

navigable water of the United States

Navigable water that alone - or in combination with other waters - forms a continuous highway for commerce with other states or foreign countries.

ordeal by water

1. An ordeal in which guilt or innocence depended on whether the accused person floated or sank after being submerged in cold water. 0 Those who sank were declared innocent, while those who floated were adjudged guilty because floating revealed the water's (and therefore God's) rejection of the accused. This type of ordeal was used esp. in witchcraft trials. - Also termed ordeal by cold water. 2. An ordeal in which guilt or innocence was determined by how quickly the accused person's arm healed after being placed in boiling water. - Also termed (in sense 2) ordeal by hot water; (in both senses) water ordeal.

percolating water

Water that oozes or seeps through the soil without a defined channel .(such as rainwater or other water that has lost its status as part of a stream). Percolating water usu. constitutes part of the land on which it is found.

posted water

(usu. pl.) A body of water that is reserved for the exclusive use of the person who owns the land surrounding it. ( The owner secures the exclusive use by posting a notice prohibiting others from using the water.

private water

Nonnavigable water owned and controlled by one or more individuals and not subject to public use.

public water

See WATER.

subterranean water

Water naturally flowing, lying in an immovable body, or percolating beneath the earth's surface.

surface water

See diffused surface water under WATER.

surplus water

1. Water running off irrigated ground; water not consumed by the irrigation process. 2. See excess water..

territorial waters

The waters under a state's or nation's jurisdiction, including both inland waters and surrounding sea (traditionally within three miles of the coastline).. -Also termed marine belt; maritime belt. tidewater. See TIDEWATER.

wastewater.

See WATER.

water bayley

. Hist. An officer (mentioned in the colony laws of New Plymouth in A.D. 1671) who primarily collects dues for fish taken out of the colony's waters.

water district

An geographical subdivision created by a state or local government entity to provide the public with a water supply.

water right

(often pl.) The right to use water from a natural stream or from an artificial canal for irrigation, power, domestic use, and the like; RIPARIAN RIGHT. - Also termed aquatic right.