The creek outside our door

Mineral & Water Rights are a State Issue, on Private Land... They are usually tied to the Land Title of the Property, and must be noted on the Land Title if they have been severed from the Land, per State Statutes... In Alaska, ALL Mineral Rights were reserved by the State, from any land that passed thru the State, into Private hands, thru the Municiple Land Act which was passed soon after Statehood. Water Rights must be applied for by Permit, thru the Dept of Natural Resources, Water Division... First you file an Application of Use, and document actual Use of the Water, then that goes into a Pile, and they will get around to your application, sometime down the road... It took us 3 years to get ours for the Beach Lot which we just Sold, and it took the previous owners of our new place, 7 years to get theirs, which is now ours...

 

Not dam the stream, but a few well place boulders could produce enough of a raceway to generate some power. More, I think; that fish and game would get upset if the stream supports migratory fish and spawning beds.

Plus a dam makes you liable for any damage downstream should there be a failure.