Dog

In 1997 in Atlanta School of Kayaking v. Douglasville County Water,(3) a county government agency sought to prevent the public from canoeing and kayaking the Dog River through private land, then taking out at a reservoir. The government agency claimed that there is not a public right to boat on such small, shallow rivers, noting that canoeists and kayakers describe the Dog River as a whitewater river that is enjoyable 'only after rainfall, and then only for a brief period of time,' and that even American Whitewater magazine said that the river 'is generally considered a high water run that is runnable on an infrequent basis at best.' But the court held that 'the answers to these questions are determined by federal law,' and held that the public does indeed have the right to canoe and kayak on such rivers under federal law.