|
NW IA | If land is in a drainage district the tile and ditches installed at inception are to be maintained in the original capacity by law. They cannot be left to deteriorate.
If a landowner in the district petitions for an improvement a qualified engineer is engaged and typically recommends options for improvements to the facility's capacity to meet different drainage coefficients. For example, an improvement could increase capacity from a quarter of an inch removal in 24 hours to 1/2 or 3/4. Public hearings are held and based on information gathered and public input the district trustees, usually the county governing board and less often land owners in the district, approve a plan for improvements and cost estimates.
Here is where it gets interesting. In order to stop a requested improvement in a district a majority of the land owners controlling at least 70% of the land in the district have to file a remonstrance (legal term for objection to the proposed improvement) at the county auditors office within a prescribed time limit from the hearing where the improvement is approved by a vote of the trustees. But, for example, if there are 1000 acres in a district, and one person owns 320 acres, the project will go forward if that individual does not join in the remonstrance.
This is an abbreviated version of how things work. There is of course much more detail in Iowa drainage code.
The laws were obviously written to facilitate drainage improvement. | |
|
Some people just should not own land.
