Georgia Code
Chapter 8 - Water Rights
§ 44-8-6. Nonnavigable Tidewaters; Title; Rights of Adjoining Landowners; Principles When Tidewaters Are Boundaries; Accretions

The title to the beds of all nonnavigable tidewaters where the tide regularly ebbs and flows shall vest in the owner of the adjacent land for all purposes, including, among others, the exclusive right to the oysters, clams, and other shellfish therein or thereon. If the water is the dividing line between two parcels of land, each owner’s boundary shall extend to the main thread or channel of the water. If the main thread or channel of the water changes gradually, the boundary line shall follow the same according to the change. If for any cause the water takes a new channel, the original line, if identifiable, remains the boundary. Gradual accretions of land on either side accrue to the owner of that side.
History. Ga. L. 1902, p. 108, § 1; Civil Code 1910, § 3635; Code 1933, § 85-1307.
Law reviews.
For note, “Regulation and Ownership of the Marshlands: The Georgia Marshlands Act,” see 5 Ga. L. Rev. 563 (1971).
For article, “Public Rights in Georgia’s Tidelands,” see 9 Ga. L. Rev. 79 (1974).
For comment on State v. Ashmore, 236 Ga. 401 , 224 S.E.2d 334 (1976), see 10 Ga. L. Rev. 1051 (1976).
For article discussing State v. Ashmore, 236 Ga. 401 , 224 S.E.2d 334 , cert. denied, 429 U.S. 830, 97 S. Ct. 90 , 50 L. Ed. 2 d 93 (1976) and Lines v. Ashmore, 236 Ga. 401 , 224 S.E.2d 334 (1976), see 12 Ga. St. B.J. 201 (1976).
For comment on State v. Ashmore, 236 Ga. 401 , 224 S.E.2d 334 , (1976), see 27 Mercer L. Rev. 1229 (1976).
For a note discussing the historical aspects and current law concerning the state’s ownership rights in tidelands, see 17 Ga. L. Rev. 851 (1983).

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