1. Water law. The principle that adjoining landowners must limit their use of a common water source to a reasonable amount. [Cases: Waters and Water Courses 41, 101. C.J.S. Waters §§ 13, 193, 195–197, 201–204.]
“Under the correlative rights doctrine … rights to groundwater are determined by land ownership. However, owners of land overlying a single aquifer are each limited to a reasonable share of the total supply of groundwater. The share is usually based on the acreage owned.” David H. Getches, Water Law in a Nutshell 249 (3d ed. 1997).
2. Oil & gas. The rule that a lessee’s or landowner’s right to capture oil and gas from the property is restricted by the duty to exercise that right without waste or negligence. • This is a corollary to the rule of capture. Cf. RULE OF CAPTURE(4).
