How is the ordinary high water mark determined?
The ordinary high water mark has been defined in federal law as the line that the water impresses on the soil by covering it for a sufficient period of time to deprive it of vegetation. In Oregon, the line of ordinary high water has also been defined by statute (ORS 274.005). Summarized in general terms, these definitions say that the ordinary high water mark is a line on the bank or shore to which the high water ordinarily rises each year and is the waterward limit of upland vegetation and soil. This line is not established based on the level to which the water rises during major floods. It is generally recognizable by a visible change in the soil and vegetation. In a 1912 Oregon Supreme Court case (Sun Dial ranch vs. May Land Company) involving the Columbia and Sandy Rivers, the court said “…’high water mark’ is the point below which the presence and action of the water are so common and usual and so long continued in all ordinary years as to mark upon the soil a character distinct
