The rule that a landowner can use groundwater as long as it does not harm a neighbor is known as?

The concept of using groundwater as long as it does not harm a neighbor is known as reasonable use. This legal principle allows landowners to extract and utilize groundwater, provided that their usage does not significantly impact the availability or quality of water for neighboring landowners. The emphasis here is on the idea of moderation and consideration of others when accessing a shared resource like groundwater.

In contrast, absolute ownership provides landowners unrestricted rights to groundwater on their property without concern for neighboring users, which can lead to excessive depletion. Riparian rights, on the other hand, relate specifically to the rights of landowners whose property is adjacent to water bodies like rivers or lakes, focusing on surface water rather than groundwater. The doctrine of prior appropriation is a principle that prioritizes the rights to water based on who first diverted the water from its source and is commonly applied in arid regions for surface water allocation. Each of these alternatives has its own legal implications and focuses on different aspects of water rights, making reasonable use the correct framework in this context.