Article​​​​​​​ 60. Water servitude

Water servitude may be established for the following purposes:

general water use;

passage of citizens and vehicles;

watering animals and driving livestock;

use of water objects as waterways for small vessels;

ensuring free access to coastal zones, including passage through them.

Water servitude may also be established for other purposes in accordance with the legislation.

Water servitude may be in the form of a public water servitude and a private water servitude.

A public water servitude is equated to the right of general water use and is established in the public interest to ensure the interests of the state and bodies of citizensʼ self-government, and the local population.

A private water servitude is established with respect to water objects granted for exclusive use.

A public water servitude applies to water objects or parts of them, including tray and other covered irrigation networks.

A public water servitude is established regardless of whether there is an agreement between the persons in whose interest the water servitude is being established and the owner, user, or tenant of the land plot where the water object or part of it and the coastal area are located, if these persons have used this right before the land plot was transferred to another person as property.

Local executive bodies must ensure the establishment of a public water servitude.

In other cases, a water servitude is established by an agreement between the persons in whose interests the water servitude is being established and the owner, user, or tenant of the land plot where the water object or part of it is located, and if an agreement cannot be reached, it is established by a court decision.

The regulations on water servitudes also apply to lands of the water fund.

A water servitude is preserved even if the right to the land plot on which the water object or a part of it is located is transferred to another person.

A permit for special water use is not required for the exercise of water servitudes.

The establishment of a water servitude does not deprive the owner of a water object granted for exclusive use of the right to own, use, and dispose of this water object.

The owner of a water object on which a water servitude is established has the right to demand a proportional fee for the use of this water object or a part of it from the person in whose interest the water servitude is established, unless a different rule is provided for in the legislation.