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The primary characteristic of the riparian rights rule is that landowners have rights to water from streams that are adjacent to their property. This principle applies specifically to properties that abut a watercourse, allowing owners to make reasonable use of the water. Riparian rights give landowners a natural entitlement to access and use the water, as long as such use does not harm other riparian owners' rights.

This concept is crucial in determining how water resources are allocated in areas where multiple property owners share a body of water. Unlike other systems, such as prior appropriation, which emphasizes the priority of water use based on the first user, the riparian rights doctrine focuses on the proximity of the land to the water source, ensuring that all property owners with adjacent land have access.

Other options focus on aspects that are not central to the riparian system. For example, while the distribution of water use can be influenced by various factors, equal sharing is not a defining characteristic. Furthermore, water rights under riparian law do not prioritize first use nor is there a restriction on the sale of water rights separately from the land. Instead, the rights are inherently attached to the property itself, reflecting the unique relationship between land and water under this legal doctrine.