Title 49, Waters, Water Resources and Drainage

If no exceptions are filed or if it is shown upon the hearing of all of the exceptions that the estimated cost of construction of improvements contemplated in the Plan of Reclamation is less than the benefits assessed against the lands in the district, the court shall approve and…

After the contract is let and the actual construction is commenced, if the work is being done with a floating dredge the superintendent in charge of construction shall notify any railroad company the right of way of which is to be crossed by the work of the probable time at which…

At the time agreed upon, the railroad company shall remove its rails, ties, stringers and other such obstructions, if such removal should be necessary, to permit the expeditious execution of the work across its right of way. The work shall be so planned and conducted as to interf…

Within thirty days after the work is completed an itemized bill for the actual expenses incurred by the railroad company for opening its tracks shall be made and presented to the superintendent of construction of the drainage improvement. Such bill, however, shall not include the…

The owner of any land that has been assessed for the cost of the construction of any ditch, drain or watercourse, as herein provided, shall have the right to use the ditch, drain or watercourse as an outlet for lateral drains from such land and if such land is separated from the …

Whenever it may be desirable to construct, widen, deepen, straighten or change any ditch, drain, watercourse or levee lying on, along, across or near the State line between this State and any adjoining state or whenever it may be desirable to construct, repair or improve any work…

Such drainage commissioners in any county of this State may jointly enter into contracts with the proper officers of such counties in any adjoining state to construct, repair or improve any such work of drainage, each to pay such proportion of the costs and expenses of the work a…

If any contractor to whom a portion of the work shall have been let shall fail to perform it according to the terms specified in his contract, action may be had in behalf of the board of drainage commissioners against such contractor and his bond in the court of common pleas for …

The superintendent in charge of construction shall make monthly estimates of the amount of work done and furnish one copy to the contractor and file the other with the secretary of the board of drainage commissioners and the board shall meet and direct the secretary to draw a war…

After the classification of the land and the ratio of assessment of the different classes to be made thereon has been confirmed by the clerk of court the drainage commission shall prepare an assessment roll or drainage tax duplicate, giving a description of all the land in the dr…

If the total cost of the work is less than an average of twenty-five cents per acre on all the land in the district the assessment made against the several tracts shall be collected in one installment by the same officer and in the same manner as State and county taxes are collec…

In case the total assessment exceeds the average of twenty-five cents per acre on all the lands in the district the board of drainage commissioners may give notice of three weeks by publication in some newspaper of general circulation in the district, if there be one, and also by…

Any landowner having lands assessed in the district and not wanting to pay interest on the bonds may, within thirty days after the publication of such notice, pay the county treasurer the full amount of his assessment and have his land released therefrom. Each and every person ow…

After the expiration of the thirty days after the publication the board of drainage commissioners may issue bonds for the full amount of the assessment not paid into the county treasury, together with the interest thereon, cost of collection and other incidental expenses.

The bonds shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding six per cent per annum, payable semiannually. The bonds shall be payable at a time not less than ten nor more than twenty-five years after their issue and shall be paid up in full at maturity.

In order to provide for the payment of bonds at maturity a "sinking fund" shall be provided as follows: Five years from the date of the bond issue and at the same time each succeeding year until the maturity of the bonds the board of drainage commissioners shall collect from the …

The bonds issued shall be for the exclusive use of the drainage district specified on their face and shall be numbered by the board of drainage commissioners and recorded in the drainage record, which record shall set out specifically the lands embraced in the district on which t…

The interest upon the bonds shall be paid to the holders thereof by the county treasurer, on warrant of the governing body of the county which shall audit and approve the claims of the bondholders.

This assessment shall constitute the first and paramount lien, second only to State and county taxes, upon the lands assessed for the payment of the bonds and the interest thereon as they become due and shall be collected in the same manner by the same officers as the State and c…

The collection of the assessment shall not be defeated, when the proper notices have been given, by reason of any defect in the proceedings occurring prior to the order of the clerk of the court confirming the final report of the viewers but such order or orders shall be conclusi…

When the clerk of the court has confirmed an assessment for the construction of any public levee, ditch or drain and such assessment has been modified by a court of superior jurisdiction but for some unforeseen cause cannot be collected the board of drainage commissioners may cha…

In the event that the United States Government makes provision for loans to prosecute drainage and reclamation work or provides for such work to be done under the supervision of its officials the drainage districts created under this chapter may avail themselves of such provision…

All sums of money arising from the sale of bonds, collection of assessments or otherwise for drainage districts or purposes shall be paid over to the county treasurer of the county wherein the drainage district is situate, to be distributed by him as provided in SECTION 49-17-162…

All bills, claims or other demands against a drainage district shall be paid by the county treasurer upon the warrant of the board of drainage commissioners, signed by not less than two of the members thereof and countersigned by the clerk of the board.

The board of drainage commissioners shall issue their warrants, directed to the county treasurer, for all bills, claims or demands against the drainage district for all work, services, contracts, damages or otherwise, including the expenses incurred in the formation of the draina…

The board of drainage commissioners shall furnish the county auditor with an assessment roll showing the names of the property owners and the amounts assessed, respectively, for drainage purposes and the county auditor shall make up an original book and a duplicate thereof as for…

The county treasurer shall collect the assessments shown by such duplicate in the same manner as taxes.

In case of default in the payment of any assessment the county treasurer shall issue his warrant to the sheriff who shall collect the assessment as in the case of a defaulting taxpayer and the same costs shall be allowed for the collection of a drainage assessment as for collecti…

The board of drainage commissioners during February in each year shall furnish the county auditor with a report showing all transfers or conveyances of land within a drainage district appearing of record, together with an equitable reassessment and classification of the land conv…

The county auditor shall make the original and duplicate assessment book conform each year with such report and changes.

The county auditor shall receive twenty-five cents for each entry in the original assessment book each year and the county treasurer shall receive twenty-five cents for each assessment collected each year and in addition thereto shall receive one per cent upon all disbursements m…

When the original assessment for drainage purposes is less than twenty-five dollars upon a property the owner must pay it in cash so that there will be no necessity to issue bonds thereon for drainage purposes.

The board of drainage commissioners may extend the time for the payment of the original assessment or any annual assessment for drainage purposes.

Whenever any improvement constructed under this chapter is completed it shall be under the control and supervision of the board of drainage commissioners. But any city or town may convert into a sewer any part of any drain within such corporate limits and to that end may change t…

The board of drainage commissioners shall keep the levee, ditch, drain or watercourse in good repair, and for this purpose they may levy an assessment on the lands benefited by the construction of such improvement in the same manner and in the same proportion as the original asse…

It shall be unlawful for any person to injure, damage or obstruct any levee, ditch, drain or watercourse constructed or improved under the provisions of this chapter or to build any bridge, fence or floodgate in such way as to injure or damage any such levee, ditch, drain or wate…

The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to promote the leveeing, ditching, draining and reclamation of wet and overflowed lands.

The clerk of the court of common pleas of any county of this State may establish a levee or drainage district or districts in his county, locate and establish levees, drains or canals, cause to be constructed, straightened, widened or deepened any ditch, drain or watercourse and …

Whenever: (1) A petition, signed by a majority of the resident landowners in a proposed drainage district or by the owners of more than half the land in acreage which will be affected by, or assessed for the expense of the proposed improvements, shall be filed in the office of th…

When the lands proposed to be drained and created into a drainage district are located in two or more counties the clerk of court of common pleas of either county shall have and exercise the jurisdiction herein conferred and the venue shall be in that county in which the petition…

The summons may be served by publication as to any defendants who cannot be personally served, as provided by law. The service of such summons upon the station agent of any railroad, interurban or other company in any county in which the right of way of such company will be affec…

Upon the return day the clerk shall appoint a disinterested and competent civil and drainage engineer and two resident freeholders of the county or counties in which the lands are located as a board of viewers to examine the lands described in the petition and make a preliminary …

The board of viewers may borrow a sufficient sum of money to defray the costs and expenses of examining the lands described in the petition and making a preliminary report thereon, including the compensation of the engineer and his assistants, not exceeding the amount of the bond…

The board of viewers shall proceed to examine the land described in the petition and other land, if necessary, and to locate properly such improvement or improvements as are petitioned for along the route described in the petition or any other route answering the same purpose if …

If the viewers report that the drainage is not practicable or that it will not benefit the public health or any public highway or be conducive to the general welfare of the community and the clerk of court shall approve such findings the petition shall be dismissed at the cost of…

If the viewers report that the drainage is practicable and that it will benefit the public health or any public highway or be conducive to the general welfare of the community and the clerk of court shall so find, then the clerk shall fix a day when the report will be further hea…