Navigability

Navigability is also referred to in the broader context of a body of water having sufficient under keel clearance for a vessel.

[1] Such a navigable water is called a waterway, and is preferably with few obstructions against direct traverse that need avoiding, such as rocks, reefs or trees.

Shallow rivers may be made navigable by the installation of locks that regulate flow and increase upstream water level, or by dredging that deepens parts of the stream bed.

Inland Water Transport (IWT) Systems have been used for centuries in countries including India, China, Egypt, the Netherlands, the United States, Germany, and Bangladesh.

The numerous definitions and jurisdictional statutes have created an array of case law specific to which context the question of navigability arises.

For the purpose of establishing which river is public and therefore state-owned, what is navigable is a constitutional question defined by Federal case law.

Therefore, FERC's permitting authority extends to the flow from non-navigable tributaries in order to protect commerce downstream, [US v. Rio Grande Irrigation, 174 U.S. 690, 708 (1899)], [Oklahoma v. Atkinson, 313 US 508, 525].

Because jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act extends beyond public property, the broader definitions of "traditional navigable" and "significant nexus" used to establish the scope of authority under the Act are still ambiguously defined and therefore open to judicial interpretation as indicated in two U.S. Supreme Court decisions: Carabell v. United States and Rapanos v. United States.

The US Supreme Court had also found that use of modern water craft insufficient evidence to support a finding of navigability [7] In India there are currently three National Waterways totaling a distance of 2921 km.