Diving privately owned springs from river

[JahJahwarrior]

So, I'm wondering about the legality of this. Basically, is it legal for me to dive in a spring where if you go there by land you have to pay $30 to dive in, but that connects to the river....If i got in from the river by boat, and dive there, is that legal, if I don't pay?

By the way, I am in Florida. I'm sure the law is different many places.

If you can provide links to webpages that give the actual law, that would be more helpful to me than "yeah it's fine I do it all the time." I'm wondering mainly because some people tell me it's fine and that they do it all the time.

I know one spring here has a sign at the river that says you have to pay if you come in by the river.

The real reason I ask is because I have access to a boat, and it's cheaper to put the boat in and motor to the site than to pay $30 to dive there

 

[Garrobo]

Do they have underwater Scuba Police patrolling the water ways, stopping illegal divers and giving out tickets which requires a visit to the Scuba Court and facing the Scuba Judge and maybe getting Scuba Fines? And after so many appearances would you lose your Scuba License? If so, I'd pay my thirty. Otherwise, I'd take my chances.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

No, but if they notice you on the surface (river run is 3-5 feet deep) I suppose they could call the police, and often there is a fish and wildlife guy in a boat in the river giving tickets to drunk tubers....

If you touch their dirt, I'd assume they could get you for trespassing, right?

 

[Flightlead]

state specific laws may apply and there may be contention between federal and state specific laws. I'm sure federal laws take precidence however arguing that in court may cost you more than $30. that being said I *believe* that if the river is "navigable" then you are free to use it. they private property owner may own the land around the spring and charge you an access fee to use the land. I think the definition of "navigable" could be contentious and is probably based on some sort of Corps of Engineers survey or similar.

The real argument is, are you willing to pay what might be a lot more money in court to argue that you are right?

If it were me, I'd take my chance and see what happened.

 

[MikeFerrara]

If you're thinking about places like Ginnie, they don't own the spring. They own the land and the access they provide. As far as I know it is completely legal to enter by way of the river and you don't owe them a dime...and yes I would check before doing it.

 

[Meng_Tze]

So, I'm wondering about the legality of this. Basically, is it legal for me to dive in a spring where if you go there by land you have to pay $30 to dive in, but that connects to the river....If i got in from the river by boat, and dive there, is that legal, if I don't pay?

By the way, I am in Florida. I'm sure the law is different many places.

If you can provide links to webpages that give the actual law, that would be more helpful to me than "yeah it's fine I do it all the time." I'm wondering mainly because some people tell me it's fine and that they do it all the time.

I know one spring here has a sign at the river that says you have to pay if you come in by the river.

The real reason I ask is because I have access to a boat, and it's cheaper to put the boat in and motor to the site than to pay $30 to dive there

There is not one straight answer to this. But my understanding is that if the waters are state managed and considered navigable water ways, you have the right to go all the way to the shore. If the land that makes up the shore is owned and operated as requiring permission (state/ private , paid or not), you would need permission to touch dry land.

Be aware that diving from a small boat in a river can be difficult...

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Yeah, I'm thinking specifically of Ginnie


Who would I check with? Who knows the answer to this?

And, I've done several dives from this small boat already. It can be a hassle, but it might be worth it What I really want to do is get a kayak and dive from that.

 

[DennisS]

Check with Ginnie Springs for starters. If they say no, ask them where they got that information. They may have the regs on file and save you some time.

 

[mike_s]

The Federal Navigable Waterways act I think makes it illegal to block access to any public body of water. The outflow of these waters is public even if the land around it is privately owned.

If it's a private lake that doesn't outflow, it's private. So it's not navigable and not covered.

This is the way that many folks dive Cypress springs in their own boat.

You will also want to research Riparian Rights. It's basically where the ownership of land on a public body of water is defined and who owns water rights. Most of the time Riparian Rights start at a certain elevation on a public lake. (like 10 or 15 feet (elevaction) above high water mark) Or so many feet up the shorline from the high water mark.

A recent case of Riparian Rights was just used recently in Florida in Destin where they are doing beach replenishment. Some of the homeowners didn't want their beach area replenished (with new sand) because it made the area in front of their house a public beach based on Riparian Rights. (the homeowners all lost out in this case because very few of them actually had deeded rights past the high water mark).

I just mention this because if you nose your boat up to any shore, you still have some legal rights to do so.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

If I ask Ginnie, I'm sure they will tell me no, and then refuse to give me any info. That's like asking your parents if they condone you drinking when you turn 21....sure it's legal but your parents probably would tell you they'd rather you not.


Riparian right ssounds like what I want to look into then....basically, I'll just ignore them if they tell me to leave if I know that what I'm doing is legal. If I'm not sure though, then I'd leave. And I want reasons to not leave, becuase when you leave you cannot dive the place you left, becuase you cannot at this point in time occupy more than one place at a time.