In general the law classifies water as navigable or nonnavigable. In navigable waters the interest of the federal government is paramount, followed by that of the state, with the public interest prevailing over that of persons with private interests resulting from the ownership of land adjacent to the water. Where the water in question is nonnavigable the public as such has no interest therein, and the exclusive right to the enjoyment of such water, subject to the police power of the state, is in the riparian landowners, that is, those persons who own a portion of the bed of the nonnavigable water. In the regulation of competing interests in the use of water, the legal tools available include those of eminent domain and of statutes; the riparian system; and the use of restrictive covenants. (Author)