Every person owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such person's lessee, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property reasonably free of trash, debris, excessive vegetation, and other obstacles that would pollute, contaminate, or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse. In addition, the owner or lessee shall maintain existing privately owned structures within or adjacent to a watercourse, so that such structures will not become a hazard to the use, function, or physical integrity of the watercourse. The owner or lessee shall not remove healthy bank vegetation beyond that actually necessary for maintenance, nor remove said vegetation in such a manner as to increase the vulnerability of the watercourse to erosion. The property owner or lessee shall be responsible for maintaining and stabilizing that portion of the watercourse that is within his or her property lines in order to protect against erosion and degradation of the watercourse originating or contributed from his or her property. Nothing in this section shall preclude any owner/lessee from compliance with relevant provisions of the Rhode Island Freshwater Wetlands Act, R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 2-1-18 et seq. or other applicable laws or regulations.
(Ord. passed 2-21-06)