US state law recognizes natural bodies of water over 10 acres as large ponds, held in trust for public use. This concept originated from English common law, where navigable waters were accessible to all. Large pond laws were developed to ensure public access to freshwater ponds and prevent inequity. The natural surface area of a large pond must be at least 10 acres, and the water is owned by the public. In cases where the pond is completely surrounded by private property, reasonable public access must be allowed.
State law in the United States recognizes any natural body of water of 10 or more acres (40,000 square meters) as a large pond, held in trust by the state for the enjoyment and use of the public. The concept, like many in American law, has its source in English common law, where navigable waters came under the jurisdiction of the admiralty and were accessible to all for fishing, navigation, or any other use. The limit of the Admiralty’s jurisdiction, however, was marked by high tide, which exempted all freshwater bodies. Bodies of fresh water were considered the property of those whose property bordered them, and their use was generally restricted to landowners and their guests, denying their use to the common people.
Coming from a culture where the public could be denied the use of freshwater ponds, it was important to egalitarian-minded Americans that such inequity not be perpetuated in their new home. Furthermore, the right to hunt on public lands and fish in public waters ensured that they would never become dependent on the Crown or any other form of nobility for their livelihoods. They developed the 10-acre (40,000 square meter) standard for freshwater ponds to define public waters and granted the public the right to use them. Large pond laws featured in the early legislation of the colonial and state legislatures; in modern times, these laws require that if a large pond is completely surrounded by private property, reasonable public access to the pond must be allowed.
That the natural surface area of a large pond is at least 10 acres (40,000 square meters), or has been demonstrated to be such a size in the past, is a fundamental nuance in large pond law. If it can be shown, for example, that a pond that is now 11 acres (44,000 square meters) has been artificially increased in size from 7 acres (28,000 square meters), then it will lose its status as a large pond and the owner or owners of the surrounding land can limit access. On the other hand, a body of water that has naturally grown to a surface area equal to or greater than the required surface area would also be considered a large pond.
An interesting aspect of the law is that the water in these types of ponds is owned and can be used by anyone. A landmark lawsuit was filed in 1890 by a mill owner who sued to prevent the taking of ice from the large pond that fed the mill stream, thereby reducing its flow. The court’s ruling was that the water was public property and that no member of the public could be prevented from using or taking it, even if such taking affected another person’s commercial interest in the water.
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