Chapter 24 — DRAINAGE AND LEVEES

24-417. Engineer; plans and specifications. That the board of directors may appoint or employ one or more engineers and prescribe their duties, and may cause all such surveys, plats, estimates, specifications and reports to be made as may be required to determine whether the cons…

24-418. Improvements authorized; estimate; construction; bonds; election. The board of directors may cause any or all natural watercourses within the district to be widened and deepened, walls, embankments and levees to be constructed along the banks, and obstructions and sand ba…

24-419. Board to determine work to be done; surveys; estimates; reports. That the board of directors, subject to the limitations contained in the next preceding section, shall have power and it shall be its duty to determine what work is necessary to be done, levees constructed o…

24-420. Action of board on engineer's report; special election; issuance of bonds. That upon the filing of the engineer's report provided for in the next preceding section, the board of directors shall carefully examine and consider the same, and if they shall approve the same an…

24-421. Change of channel of natural watercourse; issuance of bonds; levy of assessments. That if the board of directors shall determine that it is necessary or advisable to alter, change or relocate the channel or any part of the channel of any natural watercourse within the dis…

24-422. Assessment of cost against landowners; appointment of assessors, qualifications. (a) After examination of the report of the engineer, if the board of directors shall determine that any levee ought to be constructed or other work done, including construction of detention d…

24-423. Same; meeting of taxpayers, when; notice; vote. That if it shall appear by the assessors' report to be made as provided in the next preceding section that the amount to be charged against any tract of land for benefits will exceed ten percent upon its actual value as fixe…

24-424. Hearing on assessments; notice; equalization; time for bringing actions. That as soon as practicable after the report of the assessors has been filed, the secretary of the board of directors shall cause a notice to be published once in some newspaper published in the coun…

24-425. Election upon bond issue; notice; canvass of returns. That whenever the board of directors deems it necessary to issue bonds to be paid by general taxation, which issue requires the sanction of the taxpayers, it shall make an entry on its journal so declaring and an order…

24-426. Manner of letting contracts; bond of contractor; tools and machinery. That the board of directors shall not make any contract for any work to be done under the provisions of this act, the payment for which is to be made by the issuing of bonds or the levying of special as…

24-427. History: L. 1905, ch. 215, § 28; L. 1911, ch. 174, § 2; L. 1913, ch. 184, § 6; R.S. 1923, 24-427; L. 1939, ch. 183, § 1; L. 1949, ch. 250, § 1; L. 1953, ch. 191, § 1; L. 1957, ch. 225, § 1; L. 1961, ch. 192, § 2; L. 1977, ch. 125, § 1; Repealed, L. 1983, ch. 118, § 27; Ju…

24-428. Bond elections; costs included. If an election is held to vote upon the question of issuing bonds to be paid by general taxation and if the issuance is authorized by the taxpayers, there shall be included in the amount of bonds issued all costs thereof including legal, en…

24-429. Prevention of overflow of streams. The board of directors shall have charge of all the levees, embankments and other works or improvements constructed to prevent the overflow of any natural watercourse within their respective districts, and, to protect and keep the same i…

24-430. Installment assessments or bonds. Whenever the board of directors of any drainage district shall, under authority vested in it by this act, cause any levee to be constructed or other work done, payment for which is to be made by the levy of special assessments, it may in …

24-433. Levy and collection of assessments to pay bonds. That when improvement bonds are or have been issued under the next preceding sections of this act for improvements the cost of which is to be charged by special assessments against specific property, the board of directors …

24-434. Construction and purposes of act; limitation of actions. This act shall be liberally construed, to encourage the improvement of natural watercourses, to protect lands from damage and injury by overflow, and promote the public health, convenience, and welfare; and the coll…

24-435. Supplemental assessments to correct errors. That if at any time it shall appear to the board of directors that any lands that will be affected by the proposed work have been omitted from the assessment, or if any mistake has occurred in the assessment, it shall have power…

24-436. Relevy of assessments; when. In case any special assessment shall for any reason be set aside as erroneous by any court, such court shall ascertain the amount of benefit which accrued to the property on which the erroneous assessment was made by reason of the work or impr…

24-437. Order requiring railroad to elevate tracks; mandamus. If it shall be determined by the board of directors of any drainage district that it is necessary to construct any levee across the right of way, roadbed or tracks of any railroad or street-railway company or across an…

24-438. Eminent domain proceedings. Whenever it shall be deemed necessary to construct any levee across the right-of-way of any railroad company, and such railroad company shall be entitled to compensation therefor, the board of directors shall have the power to make such crossin…

24-443. History: L. 1905, ch. 215, § 44; R.S. 1923, 24-443; L. 1955, ch. 200, § 1; Repealed, L. 1963, ch. 234, § 103; January 1, 1964. CASE ANNOTATIONS 1. Pipeline held not obstruction; compensation for relocation required. Cities Service Gas Co. v. Riverside Drainage Dist., 137 …

24-444. History: L. 1905, ch. 215, § 45; R.S. 1923, 24-444; L. 1955, ch. 200, § 2; Repealed, L. 1963, ch. 234, § 103; January 1, 1964. CASE ANNOTATIONS 1. Mentioned; no appeal by condemnor after award deposited and possession taken under K.S.A. 26-101. Lowrey v. State Highway Com…

24-447. History: L. 1921, ch. 180, § 1; R.S. 1923, 24-447; Repealed, L. 1983, ch. 118, § 27; July 1. Previous | Next LEGISLATIVE COORDINATING COUNCIL General Policies 2026 Archived LCC Documents Archived LCC Meetings REVISOR OF STATUTES Archived Session Documents Archived School …

24-448. Contracts with federal agencies. That the board of directors of any drainage district shall have power to contract with any commissioner, officer, board of officers or other agency of the United States for the purpose of securing the construction, maintenance, or repair, …

24-449. Cooperation of districts; aid from persons or corporations; letting of contracts. That whenever it shall be ascertained and determined that any natural watercourse in one drainage district is accustomed by its overflow to injure lands situated in any other drainage distri…

24-450. Contract with railroad company. That the board of directors of any drainage district shall have power to contract with any railroad company or street-railroad company or companies to construct, maintain and keep in repair the whole or any part of any levee in such distric…

24-450a. Counties of 140,000; contract with railroad company; tax levy. That the board of directors of any drainage district organized under chapter 215 of the Laws of 1905, and acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto, and located in counties having a population of 140,0…

24-451. Section K.S.A. 24-426 inapplicable to K.S.A. 24-448 through 24-450. K.S.A. 24-426 shall not apply to or limit the powers granted by the last three preceding sections of this act. History: L. 1905, ch. 215, § 51; February 25; R.S. 1923, 24-451. Previous | Next LEGISLATIVE …

24-452. Sewers through levees; floodgates and pumping apparatus; duty of cities; costs. That whenever any drainage district shall include any territory that comprises a part of any incorporated city which has constructed or desires to construct any sewer or drain through any emba…

24-453. Watercourses on boundary of district; jurisdiction; sale of abandoned channel. Every watercourse any section or reach of which runs through or constitutes a boundary of any drainage district shall, within the meaning and intent of this act, be deemed to be within such dis…

24-454. Lands in abandoned watercourse; sale; appraisement. Whenever the channel or any part of the channel of any natural watercourse shall be changed or altered by the establishment of a new channel or otherwise, so that any lands situated between the banks of such watercourse …

24-455. Failure of director to perform duty; penalty. That if any director of any drainage district shall willfully neglect or fail to perform any of the duties imposed upon him by the provisions of this act he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof …

24-456. Penalty for unlawful acts. That any person who shall wrongfully fill up, cut, injure, destroy or in any manner impair the usefulness of any drain, levee or other work constructed under the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction…

24-457. Liability for damages for injury. That in addition to the penalties provided in the preceding section, the person so wrongfully or purposely filling up, cutting, injuring, destroying or impairing the usefulness of any drain, levee or other work shall be liable to the drai…

24-458. Incorporation of district where owners of three-fifths of land are nonresidents; petition. Whenever contiguous lands consisting of tracts owned in severalty by different owners shall be subject to injury from the overflow of any natural watercourse, and such land may as a…

24-459. Directors; election; term; eligible voters. (a) The board of directors of any drainage district incorporated pursuant to K.S.A. 24-458, and amendments thereto, shall consist of three qualified persons as defined in subsection (e)(3). (b) The directors for the first term a…

24-459a. History: L. 1927, ch. 198, § 2; L. 1941, ch. 223, § 1; L. 1961, ch. 192, § 1; Repealed, L. 1983, ch. 118, § 27; July 1. Previous | Next LEGISLATIVE COORDINATING COUNCIL General Policies 2026 Archived LCC Documents Archived LCC Meetings REVISOR OF STATUTES Archived Sessio…

24-460. Same; application of act of 1905. That in all respects, except as hereinbefore provided, the provisions of the act to which this is supplemental shall apply to and govern the proceedings of the drainage districts organized under this act, which drainage districts shall po…

24-461. Same; application of act. This act shall not be construed as in any manner repealing chapter 215 of the Session Laws of 1905, and shall apply only to corporations organized hereunder. History: L. 1911, ch. 173, § 4; April 3; R.S. 1923, 24-461. Revisor's Note: For sections…

24-462. Additional assessments where installment levies and bond proceeds insufficient; limitation. Whenever the board of directors of any drainage district shall have, under the authority vested in it by the provisions of chapter 215 of the Laws of 1905, caused any levee to be c…

24-463. Enlargement of district; petition. Subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 19-270, whenever any drainage district heretofore organized and incorporated or which may hereafter be organized and incorporated in this state under the provisions of this act and of chapter 215 of th…

24-464. Same; contents of petition. The petition provided for in K.S.A. 24-463 shall describe the territory proposed to be so annexed and so incorporated into the drainage district by sections or subdivisions of sections, according to the government survey or by metes and bounds,…

24-465. Same; notice of hearing. Whenever a petition in conformity to K.S.A. 24-464, and amendments thereto, signed by not less than ⅖ of the total number of taxpayers residing within both the original district and the territory named in the petition or by all of the directors of…

24-466. Same; hearing on petition. At the time set for the hearing of the petition, the board of county commissioners shall first ascertain and determine whether notice has been given of the time of hearing as is required by this act and if it shall determine that such notice has…

24-467. Same; eminent domain proceedings. Whenever it shall be deemed necessary to construct any ditch, levee, dike, jetty, riprap or other protective structure across or upon the land of any individual or corporation whether within or outside the territorial limits of the draina…

24-468. Same; drainage outside district; agreement with landowner. That any land or easement therein lying outside of, but adjacent or near to any drainage district may be drained into the drainage system of such district upon such written terms and agreement as the board of dire…

24-469. Same; benefits to adjoining land; incorporation into district; proceedings. That should the owner of any land or easement therein lying outside of, but adjacent or near to any drainage district, construct any ditch or drain so that the water on such land or easement will …

24-470. Harbor lines along navigable streams. When harbor lines have been established by federal authority along navigable streams running through drainage districts, now or hereafter organized under chapter 215, Laws of 1905, and acts amendatory or supplemental thereto, the appr…

24-471. Appropriation of land at harbor lines. The land so necessary to be appropriated shall consist of all lands lying between such harbor lines, together with a strip forty feet wide on the land side of, and contiguous to such harbor lines. History: L. 1911, ch. 172, § 2; Janu…

24-472. How appropriation made; duties of governor. That whenever private parties or corporations claim to own any part of the land so to be appropriated in any such drainage district, having taxable property to the amount of not less than forty million dollars as shown by the as…