Title 45, Water Resources: Irrigation, Drainage, Flood Control, Reclamation

(1) An urban flood safety and water quality district is created for the purpose of acquiring, purchasing, constructing, improving, operating and maintaining works in order to: (a) Reduce the risk of flooding; (b) Protect people and property from flood risk; (c) Respond to flood e…

(1)(a) Any elector or owner of land within the district may bring any proceeding that the board of directors is authorized to bring under ORS 33.710. (b) The proceeding shall be governed by ORS 33.720, except as otherwise provided in this section. (c) For purposes of this section…

(1) The initial district board of the urban flood safety and water quality district shall consist of 17 directors appointed as follows: (a) One director representing the City of Portland appointed by the Portland city council. (b) One director representing the City of Gresham app…

(1) The board of directors shall consist of nine voting directors selected as follows: (a) One director shall be elected at large by the electors. A candidate for this position must be an elector. (b) Four directors shall be elected at large by the electors. A candidate for any o…

(1)(a) Notwithstanding ORS 550.195 (2), the first directors elected at a regular district election shall determine their terms by lot so that the terms of two directors expire on the first June 30 that occurs at least two years after the date of the regular district election at w…

(1) As soon as practicable after the election and appointment of the directors to the board of directors, the directors shall meet to qualify all individuals elected or appointed as directors by administering an oath of office and to elect the officers of the board of directors. …

The board of directors shall: (1) Manage and conduct the affairs of the district. (2) Employ and appoint agents and employees and prescribe the duties and fix the compensation of the agents and employees. (3) Establish reasonable bylaws and rules for the administration of the aff…

The board of directors may appoint stakeholder advisory committees to: (1) Advise the board of directors on aspects of the operation of the district; (2) Assist with community outreach and citizen participation; and (3) Advise on such other matters as the board of directors deems…

To carry out the purposes for which it was created, the urban flood safety and water quality district is a body corporate and has the power to, without limitation: (1) Have and use a seal. (2) Have perpetual succession. (3) Sue and be sued in its own name. (4) Acquire by condemna…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the exercise of the power of eminent domain by the urban flood safety and water quality district pursuant to ORS 550.230 (4) shall be governed by ORS 35.015 to 35.530. (2) The district’s authority to condemn property is limited to…

Activities of the urban flood safety and water quality district are deemed to be urban services, as defined in ORS 195.065, if the district engages in the activities to manage flood control and safety, water quality or surface water. [2019 c.621 §11]

(1)(a) The urban flood safety and water quality district shall prepare a plan for watershed and habitat improvement and landscape resilience within the managed floodplain. The watershed improvement plan shall be coordinated with plans or programs of other jurisdictions with autho…

(1) The urban flood safety and water quality district may undertake construction of works upon approval of the proposed works by the board of directors. (2) The board of directors shall obtain engineering plans for any works that require engineering. [2019 c.621 §13; 2022 c.16 §1…

The urban flood safety and water quality district is a contracting agency as defined in ORS 279A.010 for all applicable requirements of the Public Contracting Code. [2019 c.621 §14]

(1) The urban flood safety and water quality district may construct works: (a) Across or along any street or public highway, or over any lands, that are the property of the state or of any political subdivision of the state. (b) Across or along any stream of water or watercourse,…

(1) The board of directors may finance the construction, operation or maintenance of district works by the following means: (a) Assessments made under ORS 550.310 against the benefited lands in the district, with or without the issuance of works bonds. (b) Service and user charge…

(1) All or part of the cost of building, constructing, purchasing, operating, maintaining or improving works of the urban flood safety and water quality district may be assessed against the lands to be benefited by the works. The board of directors shall determine the portion of …

(1)(a) The board of directors of the urban flood safety and water quality district may impose an annual charge to pay the costs of operating and maintaining district works that directly benefit lands situated within the managed floodplain of the district. (b) If the board of dire…

(1)(a) The board of directors of the urban flood safety and water quality district may adopt an ordinance imposing a flood safety intergovernmental fee on incorporated cities and counties with territory situated within the district boundaries. (b) The purpose of this fee is to co…

(1)(a) The urban flood safety and water quality district may annually impose, assess and collect a tax on all taxable property located in the district in an amount sufficient to pay the principal and interest due in the fiscal year on outstanding general obligation bonds issued b…

(1) To pay the costs of acquiring, purchasing, constructing, improving, operating and maintaining district works, the board of directors may adopt an ordinance to: (a) Impose and collect service charges, fees or rates on the owners or occupants of property served by the works of …

(1)(a) Upon approval of the electors of the urban flood safety and water quality district, the district may issue general obligation bonds. The district may not issue or have outstanding at the time of issuance general obligation bonds in a principal amount that exceeds two perce…

(1) The urban flood safety and water quality district may enter into a loan agreement with a state or federal agency. The loan agreement shall be in such form and contain such terms as the district and the agency may agree to. (2) The district may agree to impose and collect asse…

(1)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the urban flood safety and water quality district may, by resolution of the board of directors, dissolve any drainage district formed and operating under ORS chapter 547, any drainage district organized and operating under ORS 54…

(1) Following dissolution under ORS 550.360 of a district or corporation, the members of the initial district board appointed under ORS 550.190 (1)(i), (j) or (k) by the board of supervisors of the dissolved drainage district, or under ORS 550.190 (1)(L) by the board of directors…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, when notice is required to be given by publication under ORS 550.150 to 550.410, the notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the boundaries of the urban flood safety and water quality district…

(1) ORS chapter 255 governs the nomination and election of the board of directors of the urban flood safety and water quality district and the conduct of all district elections. (2) The electors may exercise the powers of the initiative and referendum regarding a district measure…

(1) A person commits the crime of waterway pollution if the person: (a) Throws, dumps or otherwise places, or permits to be thrown, dumped or otherwise placed, any rubbish, refuse or any other matter or object in any ditch, lateral, canal, slough or other waterway or conduit used…

(1) Regardless of any criminal prosecution or the result of a prosecution under ORS 550.390, the urban flood safety and water quality district or any other person injured by a violation of ORS 550.390 may bring a civil action to secure an injunction, damages or other appropriate …

(1) As used in this section, “actionable condition” means a condition on public or private property that obstructs, clogs, damages, injures, reduces the efficiency of, impairs the usefulness of or otherwise has a negative impact on the district’s works. (2) In addition to the rem…

(1) When the term “lands” is used in this chapter in reference to taxation, it shall not be held to include improvements thereon; but the roadbed of railway lines within diking districts shall be subject to taxation for diking purposes. (2) For purposes of this chapter, duties pr…

One-half or more of the owners of lands which may be conveniently embraced in one diking district and which are subject to overflow by tidewaters or freshets, and who represent one-half or more of the area of the lands embraced within the proposed diking district, may present a p…

(1) The county court or board of county commissioners shall then have the petition published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the district is headquartered once each week for four consecutive weeks, together with an order citing all interested parties …

The routine of procedure under this chapter shall be as far as practicable the same as prescribed by the road law of the state for survey, location and establishment of county roads. The surveyors and viewers appointed shall meet as prescribed by the county court. They shall trac…

At the time advertised for the hearing of interested parties, the court may postpone the hearing as may be necessary in order to allow the viewers more time in which to report, or for other good cause. If, upon the final hearing, the county court, from the report of the viewers a…

After the petition has been granted and the proceedings had as specified in ORS 551.050, the court shall apportion the estimated cost of the dikes and dams among the landowners of the proposed district, in proportion to the valuation of the lands therein, according to the estimat…

When the tax has been collected or the application filed as provided in ORS 551.080, the county court shall advertise for bids on the proposed work, either as a whole or in parts, as may be deemed most economical. The advertisement for bids shall be published in the official coun…

After the assessments have been made, the owner of any property assessed for such improvement in a sum not less than $50 may, at any time within 10 days after the cost of such diking district has been apportioned, file with the clerk of the county court a written application to p…

(1) Within 10 days after the petition has been granted, the petitioners shall call a meeting of the landowners of the district, to be held in the district at a time and place by them designated, for the purpose of choosing three landowners as an advisory board and nominating one …

(1) The superintendent: (a) Shall receive such pay for services as the court may allow, but shall be paid only for the time actually employed, and in no case shall the rate of pay exceed that allowed by the county surveyor. (b) Shall oversee the construction and repair of dikes a…

Moneys of a district may be deposited in accordance with ORS 295.001 to 295.108 and as designated by the superintendent of the district in consultation with the advisory board. Moneys deposited may be withdrawn or paid out only upon a proper order and warrant or upon a check sign…

If, in locating and establishing the dikes and dams provided for in this chapter, an owner of land through which they pass is aggrieved on the score of right of way or other causes, the owner shall have proper damage. In such cases claims for damages shall be filed and the amount…

Owners of land already diked may organize districts for the repair and maintenance of the dikes and dams thereof by complying with the procedure prescribed in this chapter, except that the petition need not be signed by more persons than the owners of more than one-half of the ac…

Any person through whose lands a dike has been constructed under this chapter may be allowed to construct a dike upon new lines between any two points on the original line. In such case the owner shall file application with the county court, giving a plat of the proposed change, …

The county court may vacate the right of way through which the dikes and dams pass, in the same manner in which county roads are vacated, and the right of way shall thereupon revert to the original owner.

The governing body of any county shall have the powers provided for it in this chapter to regulate the building and maintenance of dikes and dams for the purpose of reclaiming and improving submersible lands as defined in ORS 274.005, or lands subject to overflow by freshets, and…

Appeals may be taken from the action of the county court in carrying out the provisions of this chapter in like manner as appeals are provided for under the road law. Any judgment resulting therefrom shall be an expense upon the district, and not upon the county, and shall be pro…

(1) A diking district may be dissolved in accordance with ORS 198.920 to 198.955 if: (a) Either an existing drainage district formed under ORS chapter 547 or an existing water control district formed under ORS chapter 553 agrees to continue to provide operation and maintenance of…

As used in this chapter, except when the context requires otherwise: (1) “County board” means the county court or the board of county commissioners of a county. (2) “District” means a water improvement district proposed or created under this chapter. (3) “District board” means th…

(1) A water improvement district may be created as provided by this chapter for the purpose of acquiring, purchasing, constructing, improving, operating and maintaining drainage, irrigation, and flood and surface water control works in order to prevent damage and destruction of l…