In the hypothetical example above, I kept all acres the same. In the real world, everyone will have different acres in the watershed. You will also likely have land not in crop production, and therefore unlikely to be tile-drained. You will also have non-farm neighbors, who will also be unlikely to contribute any water (or capital) to the project.

After delineating the drainage extent, I figured I will use field boundaries to calculate the potential area for pattern drain installation. Most land here has some sort of tile drainage already, though it tends to be very old and only has laterals to specific wet spots. (When you're digging in tile by hand, thirty feet on centers is not an option!)

Many of these runs are clay tile...with all attendant problems that go with them. Many are too shallow, for example, and freezing or heavy machinery and deep tillage has damaged a lot. Also, when they installed laterals, they just knocked a hole in the main and used the chips to "seal" around the connection. So, we have a lot of suck/blow holes.

For those who want to participate, I think rather than trying to connect (or destroy) the old systems, the solution is to go deeper and essentially dry the up. Those who don't want to contribute to the effort can connect their old systems...no tile chips, please.

I think it would be hard to enforce a "no connect" policy. A non-cooperator sells the farm and the new owner may not even be aware of your tile project and agreement. Next thing you know, he has a tile machine sitting on the lot.

We get along great with the vast majority of our neighbors. There are always those others, of course, who are mad at the world. Permission to pass through is all you can hope for from them. I am wondering whether anyone has written agreements on these informal agreements. I should look for a template source. Communication is important -- and a written agreement is a good exhibit for what was accepted by all parties.