Title XI, NATURAL RESOURCES (Ch. 455 - 485)

Any person who shall willfully break down or through or injure any levee or bank of a settling basin, or who shall dam up, divert, obstruct, or willfully injure any ditch, drain, or other drainage improvement authorized by law shall be liable to the person or persons owning or po…

1. A person is guilty of a serious misdemeanor if, without legal authority, the person willfully does any of the following: a. Diverts, obstructs, impedes, or fills up any ditch, drain, or watercourse. b. Breaks down or injures any levee or the bank of any settling basin, establi…

The notice provided in section 468.14 shall be served by publication as provided in section 331.305 before the hearing except that the notice shall be published at least twenty days before the hearing date. Proof of the service shall be made by affidavit of the publisher. Copy of…

Any ditch, drain, or watercourse which is now or hereafter may be constructed so as to prevent the surface and overflow water from the adjacent lands from entering and draining into and through the same is hereby declared a nuisance and may be abated as such. [S13, §1989-a15; C24…

1. Levee or drainage districts through their governing bodies are authorized to maintain actions in law or equity for the purposes of preventing or recovering damages that may accrue to the districts on account of the impairment of their functions, or the increase in the cost of …

The landowner may have any beneficial use of the land to which the landowner has fee title and which is occupied by the waste banks of an open ditch when such use does not interfere in any way with the easement or rights of the drainage district as contemplated by this subchapter…

If the proposed district is all in one county, the board of supervisors may pay all necessary preliminary expenses in connection with the district. If it extends into other counties, the boards of the respective counties may pay a proportion of the expenses as the work done or ex…

If the work in the office of the auditor by reason of the existence of drainage districts is so increased that the regular officer is unable by diligence to do the same, the board of supervisors may employ such additional help as may be necessary to keep the records and transact …

The board is authorized to employ counsel to advise and represent it and drainage districts in any matter in which they are interested. Attorney fees and expenses shall be paid out of the drainage fund of the district for which the services are rendered, or may be apportioned equ…

Persons appointed to appraise and award damages and make classification of lands and assess benefits, other than the engineer, shall receive such compensation as the board may fix and in addition thereto, the necessary expense of transportation of said persons while engaged upon …

All compensation for services rendered, fees, costs, and expenses when properly shown by itemized and verified statement shall be filed with the auditor and allowed by the board in such amounts as shall be just and true, and when so allowed shall be paid on order of the board fro…

When land in a levee, drainage, or improvement district is being sold at a tax sale for delinquent taxes or assessment, the board of supervisors or the district trustees, as the case may be, shall have authority to bid in such land or any part of it, paying the amount of the bid …

1. If no redemption shall be made, the board of supervisors or trustees, as the case may be, shall receive the tax deed as trustees for the district. They shall credit the district with all income from said property. They may lease or sell and convey said property as trustees for…

1. If any person, corporation, or company owning or having interest in any land or other property affected by any proposed improvement under this chapter files an instrument in writing with the auditor designating the name and post office address of the agent of the person, corpo…

When land in a drainage or levee district, or subdistrict, is subject to an unpaid assessment and levy for drainage purposes and has been sold for taxes the board of supervisors of that county, or if control of the district has passed to trustees then such trustees, may purchase …

Redemption from said tax sale shall be made on such terms as may be agreed upon between such board of supervisors or such trustees and the owner of the land involved; but in any case in which the owner of said land will pay as much as fifty percent of the value of the land at the…

When such money is deposited with the county treasurer, the treasurer shall by mail notify the purchaser at the tax sale, or the latter’s assignee if of record, and shall pay to the holder of such certificate the sum of money deposited with the treasurer for that purpose on surre…

Payment to the county treasurer for such certificate shall be from the fund of said drainage or levee district, or subdistrict, on a warrant issued against that fund which shall have precedence over all other outstanding warrants drawn against that fund in the order of their paym…

If said certificate goes to deed to the board or to the trustees, all leases and sales of the land shall be effected and record thereof made in the same manner in which leases and sales are effected and record thereof made when the county acquires title as a purchaser under execu…

In any event where upon the request of the holder of any bond or bonds issued by any drainage district the board of supervisors shall fail, neglect or refuse to purchase the certificate of sale issued by the county treasurer and referred to in section 468.160 in manner and form a…

In case any proposition arises in said district to be determined by the vote of parties owning land therein, notice of such hearing shall be given and the board of supervisors or trustees, as the case may be, while holding title in trust to any such land, shall have the same righ…

The board of any county into which a levee or drainage improvement extends shall cause a competent engineer to inspect such levee or drainage improvement as often as it deems necessary for the proper maintenance and efficient service thereof. The engineer shall make report to the…

When a levee has been established and constructed in any county, the board shall be empowered to employ one or more watchpersons, and fix their compensation, whose duty it shall be to watch such levee and make repairs thereon in case of emergency. Such employee shall file with th…

In lieu of publication, personal service of the notice under section 468.14 may be made upon any owner of land in the proposed district, or upon any lienholder or other person interested in the proposed improvement, in the manner and for the time required for service of original …

The collection of drainage taxes and assessments shall not be defeated where the board has acquired jurisdiction of the interested parties and the subject matter, on account of technical defects and irregularities in the proceedings occurring prior to the order of the board locat…

The final order establishing such district when not appealed from, shall be conclusive that all prior proceedings were regular and according to law. [S13, §1989-a46; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 7596; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §455.184 ] 89 Acts, ch 126, §2 CS89,…

The board shall provide a drainage record book, which shall be in the custody of the auditor, who shall keep a full and complete record therein of all proceedings relating to drainage districts, so arranged and indexed as to enable any proceedings relative to any particular distr…

All reports, maps, plats, profiles, field notes, and other documents pertaining to said matters, including all schedules, and memoranda relating to assessment of damages and benefits, shall belong to the district to which they relate, remain on file in the office of the county au…

1. Any drainage district may join and become a member of the national drainage association. A drainage district may pay a membership fee and annual dues upon the approval of the drainage board of such district, but not in excess of the following: a. One hundred dollars for draina…

The cost of membership fees and dues shall be assessed against the land in the drainage district and collected in the same manner and in the same ratio as assessments for the cost and maintenance of the drainage district. [C31, 35, §7598-c2; C39, § 7598.02; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 6…

Levee or drainage districts are authorized to become members of drainage associations for their mutual protection and benefit, and may pay dues and membership fees therein out of the maintenance funds. [C39, § 7598.03; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §455.189 ] 8…

Whenever the governing board of any drainage or levee district becomes the owner of a tax sale certificate, for any tract of land within the district, and one or more year’s taxes subsequent to the tax certificate have gone delinquent, the said governing board may, on behalf of s…

Upon the filing of the petition for such appointment, the court shall fix a time and place of hearing thereon, and shall prescribe and direct the manner for the service of notice upon the owner, lienholders and persons in possession of said real estate, of the pendency of said ap…

Said application shall be heard by the court, at the time and place so designated, and after hearing thereon the court may appoint one of the members of the governing board of said drainage or levee district as receiver for said real estate, on the grounds that the said real esta…

A person entitled to receive a notice pursuant to section 468.14 , 468.16 , or 468.17 , or a person entitled to receive a notice under another provision of this chapter by the postal service or personal service, may request that the board responsible for providing such notice to …

No service of notice shall be required upon any person who shall file with the auditor a statement in writing, signed by the person, waiving notice, or who enters an appearance in the proceedings. The filing of a claim for damages or objections to the establishment of said distri…

The cost of the premium of the bond of such receiver shall be paid for out of the general funds of the drainage or levee district, and no charge shall be made by the receiver for compensation in said cause. [C35, §7598-e4; C39, § 7598.07; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, …

The owner of any such tract of real estate may avoid the appointment of such receiver, either before or after the action is commenced, by entering into a good and sufficient written instrument with the governing board of such district, agreeing to apply the rent share of the prod…

In the event a receiver is appointed for any tract of land, the owner if actually in possession thereof, shall have the preference to rent the same. [C35, §7598-e6; C39, § 7598.09; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §455.195 ] 89 Acts, ch 126, §2 CS89, §468.182

The rents, issues and profits of the real estate when collected by the receiver, shall be applied as follows: 1. To the payment of the costs and expenses of the receivership. 2. To the payment of current general taxes against said real estate. 3. To the payment of any current spe…

1. a. (1) When a levee district shall have been located and finally established; or (2) When the required proceedings have been taken to enlarge, extend, strengthen, raise, relocate, reconstruct, or improve any existing levee; or (3) When the required proceedings have been held t…

As used in this section , “person” shall mean any individual or group of individuals, corporation, firm, company, or association, except a railroad company. 1. When any person proposes to construct a pipeline, electric transmission line, communication line, underground service li…

1. Levee and drainage districts are empowered to enter into agreements with the owners of lands lying inside or outside of said districts, or with other levee and drainage districts or municipalities, to provide levee protection or drainage for such lands on such terms as the boa…

1. If it should develop that any type of public improvement, other than the forces of nature, has caused such a change in the district as to effectively sever and cut off some of the land in the district from other lands in the district and from the improvements in the district i…

The costs of closing an agricultural drainage well and constructing an alternative drainage system as part of a drainage district shall be assessed as a special assessment by the board as provided in this chapter . 97 Acts, ch 193, §11 For provisions governing agricultural draina…

Any person, company, or corporation failing to file any claim for damages or objections to the establishment of the district at or before the time fixed for said hearing, except claims for land required for right-of-way, or for settling basins, shall be held to have waived all ob…