CHAPTER I > WATERS
SECTION 1. - Ownership of Waters
Art. 502. The following are of public dominion:
(1) Rivers and their natural beds;
(2) Continuous or intermittent waters of springs and brooks running in their natural beds and the beds themselves;
(3) Waters rising continuously or intermittently on lands of public dominion;
(4) Lakes and lagoons formed by Nature on public lands, and their beds;
(5) Rain waters running through ravines or sand beds, which are also of public dominion;
(6) Subterranean waters on public lands;
(7) Waters found within the zone of operation of public works, even if constructed by a contractor;
(8) Waters rising continuously or intermittently on lands belonging to private persons, to the State, to a province, or to a city or a municipality from the moment they leave such lands;
(9) The waste waters of fountains, sewers and public establishments. (407)
Art. 503. The following are of private ownership:
(1) Continuous or intermittent waters rising on lands of private ownership, while running through the same;
(2) Lakes and lagoons, and their beds, formed by Nature on such lands;
(3) Subterranean waters found on the same;
(4) Rain waters falling on said lands, as long as they remain within the boundaries;
(5) The beds of flowing waters, continuous or intermittent, formed by rain water, and those of brooks, crossing lands which are not of public dominion.
In every drain or aqueduct, the water, bed, banks and floodgates shall be considered as an integral part of the land of building for which the waters are intended. The owners of lands, through which or along the boundaries of which the aqueduct passes, cannot claim ownership over it, or any right to the use of its bed or banks, unless the claim is based on titles of ownership specifying the right or ownership claimed. (408)
SECTION 2. - The Use of Public Waters
Art. 504. The use of public waters is acquired:
(1) By administrative concession;
(2) By prescription for ten years.
The extent of the rights and obligations of the use shall be that established, in the first case, by the terms of the concession, and, in the second case, by the manner and form in which the waters have been used. (409a)
Art. 505. Every concession for the use of waters is understood to be without prejudice to third persons. (410)
Art. 506. The right to make use of public waters is extinguished by the lapse of the concession and by non-user for five years. (411a)
SECTION 3. - The Use of Waters of Private Ownership
Art. 507. The owner of a piece of land on which a spring or brook rises, be it continuous or intermittent, may use its waters while they run through the same, but after the waters leave the land they shall become public, and their use shall be governed by the Special Law of Waters of August 3, 1866, and by the Irrigation Law. (412a)
Art. 508. The private ownership of the beds of rain waters does not give a right to make works or constructions which may change their course to the damage of third persons, or whose destruction, by the force of floods, may cause such damage. (413)
Art. 509. No one may enter private property to search waters or make use of them without permission from the owners, except as provided by the Mining Law. (414a)
Art. 510. The ownership which the proprietor of a piece of land has over the waters rising thereon does not prejudice the rights which the owners of lower estates may have legally acquired to the use thereof. (415)
Art. 511. Every owner of a piece of land has the right to construct within his property, reservoirs for rain waters, provided he causes no damage to the public or to third persons. (416)
SECTION 4. - Subterranean Waters
Art. 512. Only the owner of a piece of land, or another person with his permission, may make explorations thereon for subterranean waters, except as provided by the Mining Law.
Explorations for subterranean waters on lands of public dominion may be made only with the permission of the administrative authorities. (417a)
Art. 513. Waters artificially brought forth in accordance with the Special Law of Waters of August 3, 1866, belong to the person who brought them up. (418)
Art. 514. When the owner of waters artificially brought to the surface abandons them to their natural course, they shall become of public dominion. (419)
SECTION 5. - General Provisions
Art. 515. The owner of a piece of land on which there are defensive works to check waters, or on which, due to a change of their course, it may be necessary to reconstruct such works, shall be obliged, at his election, either to make the necessary repairs or construction himself, or to permit them to be done, without damage to him, by the owners of the lands which suffer or are clearly exposed to suffer injury. (420)
Art. 516. The provisions of the preceding article are applicable to the case in which it may be necessary to clear a piece of land of matter, whose accumulation or fall may obstruct the course of the waters, to the damage or peril of third persons. (421)
Art. 517. All the owners who participate in the benefits arising from the works referred to in the two preceding articles, shall be obliged to contribute to the expenses of construction in proportion to their respective interests. Those who by their fault may have caused the damage shall be liable for the expenses. (422)
Art. 518. All matters not expressly determined by the provisions of this Chapter shall be governed by the special Law of Waters of August 3, 1866, and by the Irrigation Law. (425a)
