New York

State College of Agriculture

At Cornell University
Ithaca, N.Y.

 

Library
‘ornell University Librar:

Drainage in Michigan,
MICHIGAN GEOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SURVEY

Publication 28

Geological Series 23

DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

DALTON G. MILLER AND PERRY T. SIMONS

SENIOR DRAINAGE ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

PREPARED UNDER THE TERMS OF AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
MICHIGAN GEOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SURVEY
R. C. ALLEN, Director -
AND

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS

LOGAN WALLER PAGE, Director

PREPARED UNDER DIRECTION OF
S. H. McCRORY, Chief of Drainage Investigations

     
     

    

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PUBLISHZD AS A PART OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR 1918

FORT WAYNE PRINTING COMPANY
CONTRACTORS FOR MICHIGAN STATE PRINTING AND BINDING
FORT WAYNE, INDIANA
1919
BOARD OF GEOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SURVEY, 1918

EX OFFICIO:
Tue GOVERNOR OF THE STATE,
HON. ALBERT E. SLEEPER

THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PusBLic INSTRUCTION

HON. FRED L. KEELER

THE PRESIDENT OF THE STATE Boarp or EDUCATION,
HON. THOMAS W. NADAL

DIRECTOR,
R. C. ALLEN

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORS

Geologists —Dr. L. L. Hubbard, Houghton; Prof. W. H. Hobbs,
Ann Arbor; Prof. W. H. Sherzer, Ypsilanti, Prof. E. C. Case,
Ann Abor.

Botanists.—Prof. E. A. Bessey, East Lansing; Prof. F. C. Newcomb,
Ann Arbor.

Zoologists.—Prof. W. B. Barrows, East Lansing; Prof. J. Reighard,
Ann Arbor; Dr. Bryant Walker, Detroit.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

To the Honorable, the Board of Geological Survey:

Albert E. Sleeper, Governor.
Fred L. Keeler, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Frank Cody, President of the State Board of Education.

Gentlemen:—I have the honor to transmit for publication a ree
port on the drainage situation in Michigan. In recent years various
proposals for State aid in drainage problems have been brought
forward for the consideration of the Legislature. Through con-
ferences with members of the Legislature, county drain commission-
ers, the State Highway Commissioner, judges, members of the State
bar and others in official and civil life who have had to do with the
drainage problems in their various ramifications it appeared that a
thorough inquiry into the whole situation should be made preliminary
to any material modification of or addition to the present laws and
the administrative system which has been developed under them.

There is no special reason why this inquiry should have been
initiated by the Board of Geological Survey; it may as well have been
made by some other appropriate State agency. It was not until it
became apparent that no inquiry would be made or perhaps could
be made except through your Board that you consented to the plan
which I laid before you late in 1917. Pursuant to this plan, early in
1918, an agreement was entered into between the Board of Geological
Survey and the Bureau of Public Roads, U. 8S. Department of Agri-
culture which contained the following governing provisions :-—

(a) The acquisition of complete and accurate information con-
cerning the existing drainage conditions in Michigan.

(b) Inso far as possible, the ascertainment of present and future
drainage needs in Michigan.

(c) The study of the relations of drainage tu ocher inter-related
problems.

(d) Preparation of abstract of the drainage laws of other States
having problems similar to those in Michigan.

(e) Recommendations for improvement in the general drainage
situation in Michigan.

(f) The preparation of the manuscript and illustrations of a
report which shall embody a complete account of the investigations
and conclusions based thereon.
6 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Pursuant to this agreement investigations were commenced and
during 1918 every county in the State was visited by a representative
of Drainage Investigations, Bureau of Public Roads, U. 8. Depart-
ment of Agriculture. The general plan followed in each county was
to first meet the county drain commissioner and confer with him
relative to. the drainage situation in that county. Following this
conference the drain records were examined and such data abstracted
and compiled as was desired, the method followed in the different.
counties being as nearly uniform as was possible. In many of the
counties the county surveyor was interviewed as was also the county
clerk, treasurer, and such other officials and individuals as might
have particular knowledge of or interest in drainage and as could be
readily interviewed. In many of the counties, field trips were made
and drains inspected in order to arrive at a better understanding of
the practical phases and results obtained by the drains under actual
working conditions. The investigations in the counties were made
by Dalton G. Miller, Perry T. Simons, and Fred F. Shafer, Senior
Drainage Engineers, Bureau of Public Roads.

Conditions beyond the control of either party to this investiga-
tion made it impracticable to secure all the assistants needed for the
work, and it was not therefore possible to complete some parts of
the investigation as had been originally planned, which would have
made certain details of the report more complete.

In addition to the information obtained-in the manner as out-
lined, the authors of this report have drawn upon such other reports
and publications as in their opinions would throw any additional
light on the whole drainage situation in Michigan. The single idea
has been to make the report as complete as possible, working within
the time and appropriation limits, and still keep it, concise.

Certain parts of the report would have been amplified had time
and means been less limited but I think it covers the subject in its
present form in a way that will meet the purpose for which it has
been prepared and any further delay in publication would make it
unavailable for use in the impending session of the Legislature.

Thanks are tendered to the County Drain Commissioners, super-
visors and other county officials without whose cooperation this re-
port could not have been prepared.

Very respectfully yours,
R. C. ALLEN,
Director.
Lansing, Michigan.
Dec. 6, 1918.
CONTENTS

Page
Letter of Transmittal, R. OC, Allens scsev cisco vgs sevne ice segi speeds cere eees 5
CHAPTER I
Conditions Affecting Drainage................ 06.6 cc teenie 13
Rainfall 2nd Ouimates cass ecccwns cnvees eae Odes awe Ma ReR A ERE eas a dare 13
Topography oi. cieioa-n eg cde ahead, 4, B yeciseare MELANA bas Gwe Ge AW wayAmenn wade wewsisens 13
DOUG) 66.5945 2 ve cee AEDT RRRAT EEO TOS Y CORRE O12 UAE Ss Oh eRee E898 s ba wOR 14
CHAPTER II
Wet Lands of Michigan.........0.00 0.0.0 eee ee bebe eee beeen 15
Reclaimable Wet Lands of the Southern Peninsula................ ) iagrenasiergnarsiarase 15
Swamp and Wet Lands of the Northern Peninsula..................000e ee eue 19
Summary of Wet Lands of Michigan. .......0.0. 0... cee eee 20
CHAPTER III
Drainagé: in Michigans: 5.2 set ace ae 24 Rae Hee HARE ON AS hae 4 i eS 21
Harlin Drain awe esi ais cae cess eae eed Wn eng pGah ay Fae aa pase aN ly a won ae me ARES 21
Development of County Drain System... 1.0.0.0... . cece ee eee 22
Expenditures on County Drains... ......00.0.000 00sec ene ene teenies 92
Cost Analysis of County Drains. .......... 0.0... eee ee 25
Suggestions on Designs of Drains...... 0.0.0... cee eee eee ten eees 28
Run-off from Watersheds. ....... 0.0... ccc eee e eee en eee 30
Size and Shape of Open Ditches......... 0.0... cece eee eee eens 33
Grade for’ Open Ditches). «dics: o sci s Ree Sig ee wie See a res Hee Bea TRE 35
Width of Doris cioss 4s ohio ee 29 Bees Te YR Fe KER Soe ae Rew 35
Construction Methods.......... cece ccc e cece een e tence eee eres eegeeneees 37
OUCLOUS)s sczeuind. co warn a eusinap ee hao w OE Aaa TA Mae Ba RSS ee 4ASes RAS 37
Uniform Method of Staking Ditches................. ahauatassane. dockins ye0e 8-8 auanawas 38
Cubic Yard Basis for Letting Contracts... .......0.00 0... c cee cee eee 39
Tile Drains for County Work. ........ 0... cece teen eens 39
Inspection 2.1 s.ciséas be 284k eR Ook ag Halden ee new F aio Doremies oa atemla Salen 42
Maintenance, ..isc0 sect kee edad dee hoes Ye gece haga wma e ene ees eee 42
CHAPTER IV
The Michigan Drain Law....... 0.00. c ccc cece ete e eet eben beeen eens 43
Purpose of thé Law ois) a2 cu a cm aeedg s eames eagl@ aN’ era ane dM SHO sineeras FRE 43
Procedure in Establishing a Drain... .........0 00.0 ccc cette tenes 43
Drains Which Affect More Than One County. .......... 006 c cece eens 50
Deficiencies in Present Procedure..:........., fash gatas ie ueteseaeeatnne, Bae tetith hehe 51
Necessity for Bonding Provision................ eB i sPoth ush BG aratay eae aD eae ae heed Mesehtogt 56

CHAPTER V

Necessity for Creation of State Department to Handle Water Resources and Drainage
REARING 6 oc cack cH 442 EEK DERE RIS EER Yee ER CRA LESTE STS Foe mamers 58

Abstracts of Drainage Laws of Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin......... 62
SPOOR RIG 6.5 2 RA AWRARE TARAS BHT DEEN REEL 4G OSA EN ORES ENS 9S ESO 62
VO We alice ata ie et cae a ws Seta eR ON Ta ee Bid J ee DU aS Bane ens gl gue ele at oes 69
Missouri sie. S52 bx tetuto alone aed da el a aor NEE A OER Maw Aveeaers 83
OWI 6 .ois Seasede POR 4s SEE RON AS 44 SENET A EO SEE Ragkley ya tees VAAN Gauia seed 97
Plate
Plate

Plate

Plate
Plate

Plate

Plate

Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.

Figure 4.

LLLUSTRATIONS

PLATES Page
I. Map of Kent County showing 171 County Drains.................... In pocket
II. Map of St. Clair County showing 166 County Drains.................. In pocket
Plate III. Construction of open drain with board scraper and team................... 28
IV. Dredged drain in clay soil, Eaton County. 2.00.06 00k es eww eee eee ween es 35
Vv. Land dredge constructing drain, St. Clair County....................05. 37
VI. Drain constructed by land dredge, 1917, to replace shallow team and scraper
QVAIN: COMSELWCTOA 1M: VON 2255 26 50s se saensssossinte Bese lesa ba eraetiusee pea oe caoes we see e ie 37
Plate VII. Figure 1, Dredged drain with spoil banks leveled and cultivated....... ei BFE 38
Plate VII. Figure 2, Drain dredged in 1896, reclaiming large area of fertile farm land.... 38
Plate VIII. Figure 1, Dredged drain through muck soil, sandy subsoil, Sanilac County.... 38
Plate VIII. Figure 2, Drain 23 feet deep through ridge of sand, muck subsoil, to drain
swamp back of ridge, Huron County............ 2.00.0. eee 38
Plate IX. Figure 1, Land type of dredge constructing open ditch..................... 38
Plate IX. Figure 2, Floating dredge, 2 yard dipper, 60 foot boom, 28x80 hull, Saginaw
COUNCY orcer 5.5 Bes, K MRS BAGS eae a RAACRE AT RRA Ae ee 38
X. Figure 1, Dredged drain which discharged into lower flat area. Could be
advantageously replaced by tile..................... Faria ane gRkos ns Bleeenees OH 38
X. Figure 2, Dredged drain partly filled with sediment because there is no outlet. 38
Plate XI. Figure 1, Falls 36 feet high on Tahquamenon River, Chippewa County...... 38
Plate XI. Figure 2, Dredged drain which has poor outlet........... 0.00. cece eee 40
Plate XIE. Figure 1, Old team and scraper ditch to be replaced with 27-inch tile drain,
Hatton COUNGY i oni a -6 esiectnesteien tn eed feos aR Te Be Egos ER RGR A mE 40
Plate XII. Figure 2, Outlet of 36-inch segemental block drain, Eaton County........... 40
Plate XIFI. Figure 1, Open drain nearly filled in........ 0.0.0... eee 40
Plate XIII. Figure 2, Typical old open drain in marsh pasture land, entirely filled in and
grown up with vegetation....... 0.0... 0c eee eee ene 42
FIGURES
Expenditures on Michigan County Drains for 20-year period (1898-1917) show-
ing relative importance of counties with respect to expenditures............. 23
Chart showing total annual expenditures for county drains for 20-year period.
1898-1917, INCIUSIVE« ..6 3.6 ci ass Hee Ha SET OE eee ee EE ee 24
Illustration of percentages of principal expenses contraction in operation of
county drain law in Michigan. (Based on table for 5-year period 1913-1917). 26
Map and profile of typical drainage project............ 0... ccc cette eet 29
Diagram showing operation of Michigan Drainage Law ..................005. 45

Figure 5.
CHAPTER I
CONDITIONS AFFECTING DRAINAGE

RAINFALL AND CLIMATE

Rainfall in different parts of Michigan varies but slightly. In
the Southern Peninsula, the total annual rainfall ranges from be-
tween 25 and 40 inches and averages about 33 inches, and in the
Northern Peninsula it ranges about the same with an average of 34
inches.

The climate* of Michigan is. insular to a marked ‘degree on
account of the Great Lakes.

The mean annual temperature of Southern Michigan as a whole,
is about forty-six degrees, ranging from forty-nine degrees in the
extreme southwestern part to forty-two degrees in the extreme north-
eastern portion. The mean temperature of the Northern Peninsula
is about forty degrees. The average maximum, or day temperaturs:,
ranges from about eighty-two degrees in summer to twenty-eight
degrees in winter, and the average minimum, or night temperature
is approximately fifty-seven degrees in summer and twelve degrees
in winter. Extreme temperatures of one hundred degrees or more
are not of frequent occurrence, although they have been recorded
at some places on one or two days, during a majority of the summers
in the past twenty-five years. Zero temperatures are an invariable
rule during most winter months in the northern half of the Southern
Peninsula; in the southern half of the Peninsula zero temperatures
usually occur, although there have been some winters in the extreme
southern counties when there has been an entire absence of zero
temperature.

TOPOGRAPHY

The surface topography of the Southern Peninsula varies from
level to hilly, extreme elevations ranging from 580 feet to about 1,700
feet above sea level.

The surface of the Northern Peninsula ranges from ie to
mountainous, although the per cent of rugged area proper is very
small as shown below under the classification of ‘rocky knobs and
ridges.’’ The extreme variation in altitude in the Northern Penin-
sula is from 580 feet to 2,023 feet above sea level.

 

 

*C, F. Schneider, ‘‘Ciimatic Conditions of Michigan.’" Michigan Geo!ogical and Bio-
logical Survey. Pub. 25, Geol. Series 21. 1917.
14 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

The surface slopes of both Peninsulas of the State, in so far as
related to drainage, generally average between 3 to 7 feet to the
mile although some of the larger streams have slopes of less than three
feet per mile.

SOILS

Michigan lies in a heavily glaciated area and as a result the soils
of both Peninsulas are very complex in the matter of distribution
and range in texture. In different sections of the State certain types
predominate and in many sections several distinct types will be
found within very small areas.

The total areas of the principal types of soils have been classified
‘by Leverett in Surface Geology of Michigan, Publication 25, Geologi-
cal Series 21 as follows:

Southern Peninsula: Swamp and lake 11.60%, clayey and sandy -
till 55.20%, sandy and gravelly 33.20%.

Northern Peninsula: Swamp and lake 25.00%, clayey and sandy
till 49.02%, sandy and gravelly 17.50%, rocky knobs and ridges
8.00%.
WET LANDS OF MICHIGAN 15

CHAPTER II

WET LANDS OF MICHIGAN

Michigan, generally, is given fifth place among the States in area
of swamp and overflow lands, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and
Arkansas being placed ahead. Swamp and overflow lands do not,
however, form a fair basis for comparison among the States of the
total areas which will be benefited by drainage nor do they form a
fair basis in any one particular State for estimating the actual: ag-
ricultural benefits which will result from drainage.

In the first place there is much land which properly may not be
classed as swamp or overflow land but which by proper drainage
will receive benefits almost—if not wholly—equal to those that result
from the drainage of these two types of wet land. This applies
particularly to the clayey soils, which are usually rich in available
plant foods, but through which, because of the fineness of the clay
particles, soil moisture travels but slowly. As a result this type of
soil, although frequently not appearing actually too wet and which
may not even be low lying, is prone to retain an excess of free water
and for this reason warms but slowly during the early spring months.
These lands, frequently and with reason, are referred to as being
cold and damp. By surface drainage, and thorough tiling the pro-
ductivity of such land may be greatly increased and sometimes more
than doubled. Therefore it is almost impossible to overestimate the
actual monetary value of adequate drainage to any agricultural
community, where there is as much of this kind of soil as there is in
Michigan. It has been estimated* that about 22 per cent of the
Southern Peninsula and about 15 per cent of the Northern Penin-
sula are of a clayey type.

Certain other types of wet land may have agricultural possibil-
ities which have not-been fully determined and which by ordinary
methods of farming as practiced by the'average farmer under average
conditions, do not give satisfactory returns even after drainage.
Consequently reclamation by drainage, alone, of certain types of
land may be of questionable value unless followed by specialized
intensive farming. This applies to sand bottom swamps covered
by a thin layer of muck.

RECLAIMABLE WET LANDS OF SOUTHERN PENINSULA.

In order to secure some definite information as to the undeveloped
wet land resources of Michigan the following questionnaire was sent

*Frank Leverett, Surface Geology of Michigan: Michigan Geological and Biological
Survey, Pub. 25, Geol. Series, 21, 1917.
16 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

to each of the 1,111 township supervisors of the 68 counties of the
Southern Peninsula. Replies were received from 666, or 60 per cent
of the supervisors.

INFORMATION REGARDING DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN
FOR THE U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AND THE MICHIGAN GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Name of County............. Gann atd atomistic aa ence
Name of Township.............022.0 cee eee eee ce eee

1. Estimate of the total number of acres of land in your
township which is too wet to profitably cultivate. This to
include both timbered and cleared wet land of all kinds,
—lakes, overflowed land and land too wet to farm during

ordinary seasons.
: WEOtals 2330 cuca te sats as auoge me Acres.

2. Estimate the number of acres of this wet land which
can be reclaimed by proper drainage.

3. Give present average assessed value of the land in
your township.
Per acre, $.2 0. sconces cee iene is

4. Give the present average assessed value per acre of
the wet land in your township which might be reclaimed
by drainage.

Per aere,$......... 00.00.0055
WET LANDS OF MICHIGAN 17

In the interviews with the county drain commissioners generally
an estimate by him was secured as to the area of reclaimable wet
land within the county.

From the questionnaires returned by Supervisors, from the inter-
views with the county drain commissioners, from field inspection
trips and also from information obtained from Soil Survey and
Geological Survey sheets and from the State Board of Equalization
Reports the information contained in Table No. 1 was compiled.
This table relates only to those 47 counties of the Southern Peninsula
lying south of the U. S. Land Office 2nd Correction Line, about
latitude 44°-10’; crossing the State just south of Manistee, Cadillac
and Tawas City.

This estimate in no way represents the total area of swamp and
lake lands of this section of the State but applies wholly to the wet
lands which are deemed reclaimable by ordinary methods of drain-
age. The area totals 2,175,000 acres which is 12 per cent of the
combined areas of the 47 counties and is just about equal in size to
the combined areas of any six of the seven counties in the southern
tier of the Southern Peninsula. This particular area of reclaimable
wet land does not lie in a section of the State in which the benefits
of drainage are in any sense uncertain or experimental as much of
it is immediately contiguous to lands which already have been
drained and all lies within that part of the State where more than
99 per cent of the total expenditures on county drains have been
made during the past 20 years and where the benefits of drainage
have been repeatedly proven.

The total increase in assessable value which will result when these
lands in the 47 counties have been drained has been very conserva-
tively estimated at $62,697,000 as shown by Table No. 1. This is
more than three times as much as has been.spent on county drains
within these counties during the last 20 years.

In addition to the area of 2,175,000 acres of reclaimable wet land
in the 47 counties just mentioned, it has been similarly estimated,
as shown in Table No. 2, that there are 661,000 acres of reclaim-
able wet lands in the 21 counties of the Southern Peninsula lying
north of the U. S. Land Office 2d Correction Line. There has been
spent for drainage in these 21 counties in the last 20 yearsa total of
but $125,316.

The character of the wet lands of this part of the State varies
widely, the soil ranging from a clayey type to sand. Methods of
reclamation of the clayey lands have been well worked out in the
southern part of Michigan and in many of the other States. The
sandy lands and those swamps in which a thin layer of muck overlies
18

DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

the sand, should be reclaimed on a large scale only after careful
consideration is given to the methods of drainage and the uses to
which the lands will be put after drainage.

TABLE No. 1.

Showing Estimated Areas and Increase in Assessable Value of the Reclaimable Wet
Lands of the South 47 Counties of the Southern Peninsula of Michigan.

 

Reclaimable Wet Lands.

 

 

  
 

 

 

Areas Increase in Assessable
of Value if Drained.
Counties. Counties Estimated =
(Acres). Areas

(Acres). Per acre. Per county.
Allegan....:. uficsapesnravioia nee hahadeslyslen ees 529 ,873 48 ,000 $27 50 $1,320,000
PATON BC ove 3) avssave. danendiera aes ansatieute ses 235,098 93 ,000 14 00 1,302,000
BEATS 5. 5.05 Sacer api ahaa srw aioe catacal dd 354,029 35,000 24 50 857 ,500
BBY oie scenic cov shity arn snares leie wiaiewaeh~as 284 ,627 36,900 20 50 738,000
BOLriCnies insta cnayagitakecdainyeend 361, 982 12,000 37 00 444,000
Mra nele, 5) (0 ivan yuneaue Rens 320,720 56,000 50 50 2,828,000
Calhoun... s:a35 neana neaeusian® 5 447 ,452 52,000 27 00 1,404,000
BSS 62 Fe Fa Om eee ens ees ae 316,393 38,000 35 50 1,349,000
OL ALG iis aicéieye nd. e-4 rage tare Beta shed iin ions 364,757 27,000 12 00 324,000
CHM GON 5 cis G24 de tentonscieceinenann 364,793 38,000 35 00 1,330,000
Eaton 366 ,033 52,000 50 50 2,626,000
Genesee 403 ,980 48,000 32 00 1,536,000
Gladwin 330,765 100 ,000 14 50 1,450,000
Gratiot. . 364,624 40 ,000 32 50 1,300,000
Hillsdale........22222100! 386 ,087 18,000 41 00 8 ,000
Huron. . 536,983 59,000 27 50 1,622,500
Ingham. 355,273 24,000 35 00 840 ,000
Ionia. . 366,291 29,000 34 50 1,000,500
Isabella. 368 ,746 32,000 22 50 720 ,000
JACKSON: 5,065.5 cose sie sie 453 ,452 31,000 29 00 899,000
359 ,235 72,000 38 00 2,736,000
345,815 17 ,000 37 50 637 ,500
365 ,394 22,000 9 50 209 ,000
LA DOOM op iig. ods 8 os ae Sree eee aa 423 ,536 47,000 35 00 1,645,000
DONS WC ij..c5 iene ars GSS. 9 bacare 466 , 678 64,000 45 00 2,880,000
Livingston................... 370,871 29,000 33 00 957 ,000
M&COMD: «csicdecnieaeiaaGad a 300,030 20,000 40 50 810,000
IMASOt a chino ee Phe CEASERS 315,527 30,000 13 00 390,000
MCCOSta iin 22.054 htt eacee waxes 362,779 40,000 21 50 830,000
Milan iiss .63-8 acc acai we asasieseye's 336,476 119,000 19 50 2,558,500
MOnro@i i iiainespeganceaae cals 355,293 24,000 44 00 1,056,000
Montcalm. 25662 ..s cee eens 454,461 51,000 27 50 1,402 ,500
Muskegon, 2: 2. cscneacenseaas 322,435 34,000 16 00 ,000
NOW8YE0%. eden guise re ae seas 542,741 39,000 12 00 468,000
Oakland... :cicreceacseceg ewes 575,400 30,000 34. 50 1,035,000
OCeCANS ie sich 4 a eeee ss eG es 345,416 15,000 12 00 180,000
ROWE cos Vee e cea RESO Soe 367 ,337 68 ,000 14,50 2,021,000
Olt Wass is cssidic. by on Bee, wade 357 ,839 ,00 47 00 3,713,000
Saginaw................e eee 520,291 77,000 21 00 1,617,000
Sana eicsince weed eh se Rese dete 616,214 95,000 27 00 2,565,000
Shiawassee................... 345,200 25,000 34 50 862,500
St. Clair iv gon cea iscce hs aaieanen 443 ,391 65,000 27 00 1,755,000
OP. DOO che da cree cee yews -319,794 51,000 37 50 1,912,500
TUsCUlaiscxeeceeax ne eeeeryars 510,698 64,000 28 50 1,824,000
Van BurOthe: career eracid fence 391,443 83,000 24 00 1,992,000
Washtenaw.................. 454,047 27,000 34 00 918,000
WED YDG iscsi: sioisiscrianegeaiisciosiats Gcdices Shatch 367 ,039 20,000 27 50 550,000
Total Sins 6 dancin aww y a4 18 ,447 ,338 2,175,000 $28 83 |$62,697,000

 

 

 

(average)

 

 
WET LANDS OF MICHIGAN 19

TABLE No. 2.

Showing Estimated Areas of Reclaimable Wet Lands in th N h
the Southern Peninsula of Michigan. 7 : Crane eee zs

 

 

   
 

 

 

 

Reclaimable

Wet Lands.
‘ Areas of apa alte

Counties. Counties
2 (Acres). Estimated

areas (acres).
ALCON GS 5. 6.iacy owluy snd Seed 435 ,247 48,000
371,152 101,000
305 ,558 6,000
204,192 8,000
ne 266,225 19,000
Chebovganines isa ucaud se cos manes oY 3S alnmedeaeudend ah 462 ,440 73,000
OE ciao de nak 6 Shahi eG Ga neik Die dg wdd-4 eaten oad 359,846 11,000
PG ages so oe ue RAR oe Wee mmene RADA Rak Whelan es 300,885 23,000
Grand Traverse 229,278 14,000
TOSCO: asia cs ices Sistine oj ea tena Rie Reseed am apectenene a mada 354,822 33 ,000
FAIRGGR ae) oa vege tees eo ang oe egies Ces de mea see bee ks 359,669 8,000
Ledlanaus ecci2 ies spoke ee webes east kang baa BMAM Sys 220 , 234 24,000
Manistee................. 350,101 43,000
Missaukee................ 363 ,290 58,000
Montmorency 355,529 18,000
GPCMEW ici sca cecide dias eeeadons 2 o0n4 ae a owen 4 366,811 26,000
OSCOD Bis beeing. seanacin's HEARS RR se SARs Cea 364,769 20,000
OPSO RO sae 55 teenies weeanititeo sein Hh ceiy AR amet paisaR Reha serve a lene eters 334,273 15,000
Presque: Isle: 20 sings saree ankws g.9 srargetnae wena 428,875 53,000
ROSCOMMON : 5. esses eo Re eR AEA HERD ERS SoS ew aEEIRE 338,315 56, 000
WeSIONE ens 95 Shab bo EES § OEOE SEE LS OES 4 eS 366,676 4,000
Totals. . sel alcyD. ysbemtaek Wahid ira toh es Rr euRNLR aie ROR da, Te Aco 7,138,188 661,000

 

SWAMP AND WET LANDS OF THE NORTHERN PENINSULA

The data relative swamp land for the different counties of this
Peninsula as shown in Table No. 3 were compiled as shown on the
original survey plats of the United States Land Office. Because of
the generally undeveloped agricultural conditions of the Northern
Peninsula of Michigan no effort has been made to estimate the re-
claimable wet land area of this part of the State.

As indicated by the table there are 2,598,000 acres of swamp
lands in this section of the State which is very nearly 25% of the
total area of the Northern Peninsula. There has been but little
effort made to reclaim any of this, as only 4 of the counties have
spent anything whatever on county drains; the total to date amount-
ing to but $8,528 spent on about 12 miles of ditches. In addition
to this there have been some 70 or 80 miles of open ditches construct-
ed by individuals and corporations under land development schemes.
The area of land fully reclaimed and made suitable for farming by
these schemes has been very small.

The possibilities of drainage for improving the almost wholly
undeveloped agricultural resources of the Northern Peninsula are
only just beginning to be generally appreciated and only then in those
counties where agriculture is well established.
20 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

TABLE No. 3.
Swamp Lands in Northern Peninsula of Michigan.

 

 

 

 

Swamp lands.
Areas
Counties. Countes
(Acres). Area in Per cents
Acres. of counties.

PRU OP aor. otters ce Qonhesneten A avec Maa eee aha uh aly 589,949 121,500 20.6%
Bara’ Basis. ok 445 69 arsed AGS Acne ako 583 ,806 74,800 12.8%
ChIPPOWas: ie suc eas as wn, Hoe arsine 999 , 960 340,500 34.0%
Deltas ciass.osd iss tests sgn avesdwanc ennai s ak Maree 748,915 234 ,500 31.3%
Dickinson +2... s ing ot GagageEs-e-a 4 gaye 491,925 110,500 22.5%
Gogebic. onsa.cicrmarerewndge i asiee 4a seeces 712,033 82,000 11.5%
HoughtOn. i scccaccaacvnewnewee ened angeces 647 ,466 49,300 7.6%
Tons 9.56 8205 chs tk Poem sie hye ee She ay 760 , 143 115,300 15.2%
Keweenaw: « c:ees2 84424 stesanwe s See dre 348 ,468 50,000 14.4%
TMMCO ss setpisc at Bick Ae Gop Masiece te Guscadcmusimioanich TS 582,654 223,500 38.4%
MaGhkinae).. 3 9i5.s)2 8c tne. i do prauicddtuieegeaua 359 ob ace 650 , 255 259,000 39.8%
Marquette... i cscccus noc edie ge acter teoaearn mening gen eave 1,182,851 235 ,000 19.9%
DEO OMIM ii. ae te ois nee ace en teen erat sercounn ania one 670,279 292,700 43.7%
Ontonagons i) 5 acon na aoe a eae he odors aH RE 844,754 27,200 3.2%
SChOOlCr ates 52.2208 siehedcs Aiwa avenaiaxeietat wa 758,096 382,200 50.4%

Totals......... CLIO ENS LS A As aanceetis 10-,571,544 2,598,000 Av. 24.6%

 

 

 

 

In addition to the part that drainage will play in the develop-
ment of such of the swamp lands of the Northern Peninsula as may
be profitably reclaimed, the history of the south half of the Southern
Peninsula is sure to be duplicated to the extent that a large per cent
of the clayey lands will also require drainage. As stated previously
it has been estimated that almost 15 per cent of the soil of the North-
ern Peninsula is of a clayey type. This 15 per cent is largely in
addition to the estimated 25 per cent of swamp land.

SUMMARY OF WET LANDS OF MICHIGAN

In a general way the wet land situation of Michigan can be sum-
marized as follows. The estimates for the two Peninsulas are essen-
tially different in character and are not comparable:

Southern Peninsula.
Reclaimable wet Lands:

47 southern counties.................... 2,175,000 acres
21 northern counties.................... 661 ,000 acres
Total for the 68 counties... .. . -........2,836,000 acres

Northern Peninsula
Swamp and Lakes:
. Total for the 15 counties........ 2. ...., 2,598 ,000 acres

In addition to the swamp and lake land the Northern Peninsula
has about 1,586,000 acres of clayey land much of which will need
drainage if the agricultural possibilities are to be fully realized.
DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN. 21

CHAPTER III

DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

1

EARLIER DRAINAGE

As stated elsewhere in this report the first comprehensive drain
law of Michigan was passed in 1839. Between 1839 and 1897 con-
siderable drainage was done under both county and township sys-
tems but in compiling the statistics for the different counties no
general attempt was made to ascertain the amount so expended as
in many cases the township records were unobtainable and many of
the earlier county records were incomplete and difficult of access.

Some little information relative to that part of the earlier drainage
which is properly of the nature of county work was obtained in a
few of the counties. The amounts recorded in Table No. 4 probably
very nearly represents the total so spent during the inclusive periods.
In most of the counties much more was spent on public drains during
the same period but spent under the township plan. This may be of
passing interest and is contained in the following table. No informa-
tion is at hand relative to the number of miles of drains on which
these sums were expended excepting for Wayne County, which
expenditures for the period from 1859 to 1897 were on about 1,050
miles.

TABLE No. 4.

Early Expenditures on County Drains.

 

 

 

 

 

County. Period. No Expendi-
years tures.
Branch ye po'0'0 ise aeig d dag Meee en Bo eae SaaS 1861-1897 37 | $ 36,157 76
Calhouinics s 24 un ek os bod maa epics we gne is anaes ve 1871-1897 27 29,901 54
CASS. oc Fee ee GaSe SEs Se Pee ews © dea NE 1871-1897 27 28,827 04
FUISAIGs 6 5 sncueeee os doce a ego FER ESSA ESS VAS YS 1861-1897 37 26,126 18
MACK SOM vie da Gecviauce tl 2 Berd eck asian wae eb Spas AMMEN 1867-1897 31 52,459'25
Kalam az00 vsctnn i 1a.esid Sut pn oe Dae Slokd a eyadene 1878-1897 20 7,285 87
Oaldans sig sc sgitites: eas cen beta BAA SoA chee 1863-1897 35 104,940 40
OCGA Wars i ex masioa: fa ae eben h swede tha ad 1894-1897 4 10,639 73
St. Joseph 1887-1897 11 19,500 35
Van Burene sos: scneans os pen G84 SEES Eo dee oe ES 1882-1897 16 95,964 21

 

WAP hG oss sc in a7 PRA R Re td demas KE SARE ae 1859-1897 39 516,423 21

 
22 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTY DRAIN SYSTEM

Drainage in Michigan, under the county system as known at the
present time, dates back a little more than 20 years when the county
drain commissioners were given supervision of all county drains by
Act 254 of the Michigan Laws of 1897. At present county drain
commissioners are serving in 70 counties of the State; sixty three are
located in the Southern Peninsula and 7 in the Northern Peninsula.
Thirteen counties: Antrim, Crawford, Kalkaska, Oscoda and Otsego
in the Southern Peninsula, and Baraga, Dickinson, Gogebic, Hough-
ton, Iron, Keweenaw, Mackinac and Schoolcraft in the Northern
Peninsula are without county drain commissioners.

During the 20-year period from 1898 to 1917 expenditures were
made on county drains in 63 of the 83 counties of the State. The
following twenty counties, of which the first nine are in the Southern
Peninsula and the remaining eleven in the Northern Peninsula, have
spent nothing: Alcona, Antrim, Crawford, Kalkaska, Leelanau,
Montmorency, Ogemaw, Otsego, Oscoda, Alger, Baraga, Delta,
Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Luce, Marquette,
and Schoolcraft. One of these counties, Alcona, during 1917, estab-
lished its first drain so that this county might almost properly be
excluded from the list as the county records will show expenditures
in 1918. However, strictly speaking these will not have been made
within the 20-year period, and no expenditures are shown for Alcona
in Table No. 5, although a cost anaylsis has been made of the ex-
penditures for one drain as shown in Table 6.

Expenditures on County Drains

Table No. 5 shows expenditures in the State as a whole and in each
county during the 20-year period from 1898 to 1917 inclusive.

In the chart in Figure 1 the different counties of the State have
been arranged in the order of total expenditures for these 20 years
and at the right hand side of the. chart the expenditures in the dif-
ferent counties are compared graphically.
DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN. 23

HUNDRED THOUSANDS
Gof @ # 6 7 9 10 N 12

     
 
 
 
  
   
 

 

!.Gratiot.__$1,2.
2. Sanilac.__.. 41.
3.Tusco/a______: 9.
4, Saginaw..___-
§.Zaton..__...-

7. Midland

1
8. Shiawassee __
9. Clinton._..-

    
 
 

 
 

27. Van Buren.
28. Washtenaw...

      

  

39. Muskegon.__./0
40.Mason....-~--- 9
4L. CaSs_----------
42.Jachson_..----
43, Osceo/a_-_-
44,0ceana.
495. Clare __-
46. Mecosta
47, losco...
48 Missaukee....
49, Manistee__-_---
50. Wexford____-_--
51. Cheboygan.....

_ $2. Chippewa.._--..

‘53, Foscommon.... 2,
a lenominee___-2,/.
. ena_____----
56. Presque Isle_._./,
57. Laké_._____.--- /

58 fim :

59. Charlevolx.+_.-
60. Grand Traverse...
61. Benzie____-------
62 Ontonagon.....--
63, Mackinac.__..-.
64. Hoe sek

0
2

  
  
  
  
    
  
        
  
 

/.

 

*No expenditure in the
following counties:—

/cona Kalkaska
Alger Keweenaw
Antrim Leelanau
Baraga Luce
Crawford Marquette
Delta Montmorency
Dickinson Ogemaw
Gogebie Oscoda
Houghton Orsego.
/ron Schoolcraft

Figure 1, Expenditure on Michigan County Drains for 20-year‘period (1898 to 191
inclusive) showing relative importance of counties with respect to expenditures,
24 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

The average amount spent annually in the State on county drains
has been $942,978 and totals $18,859,576 for the 20 years. Of this
amotint all except $135,209 has been spent in the 47 counties of the
Southern Peninsula lying south of the U. S. Land Office 2nd Correc-
tion Line about latitude 44°-10’, crossing the State just south of
Manistee, Cadillac and Tawas City. This represents, for these 47
counties, an average per county of $398,390 for the 20 years; and a
yearly average per county of $19,920.

The chart in Figure 2 shows graphically the annual expenditures
and clearly illustrates that the trend, although fluctuating to some
degree, has been decidedly upward from 1898 to 1917 as the increase
from $285,555 in 1898 to $1,683,457 in 1917 represents an increase of
490 per cent in 20 years.

  
  
  
    
    

1898 285,554.89
1899 353,843.07
1900 477,861.61

190) SO4I95.90
1902
1903
1904 [/,
1905
1906
(907
1908
1909
i910
(911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917

Figure 2. Chart showing total annual expenditures f i -
hate eee Dp or county drains for 20-year period,

Note.—The expenditure $1,263,252,34 for 1905 is correct, although ‘through an error
the diagram for 1905 was made shorter than that whi
Ce ee ACR for 1906 in which year the expenditure
Fold out
 
DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN. 25

As nearly as could be determined from the many records examined
the total of $18,859,576 for the 20 years was expended on about
9,300 separate drains, having a length of approximately 19,400 miles,
of which 1,775 miles were tile drains and 17,625 miles were open
ditches. The average length of all classes of drains has been 2.1
miles, the average cost per drain $2,028, and the average cost per
mile of drain $972, or $3.08 per rod.

During the last five years of this period as shown in Table No. 6,
2,605 drains were worked on, of which 1,395 were new and 1,210 were
old drains that were cleaned, deepened, widened or extended. The
2,605 drains have a total length of 5,323 miles, of which 1,058 miles,
or 20%, are tile. The average length per drain for the last 5 years is
shown to be 2.0 miles and the average depth 4.4 feet. The drains
have cost $3,057 per drain and $1,496 per mile of drain, while the
average cost per acre of lands assesséd has been $2.48. The number
of acres assessed for each drain has averaged 1,234 acres or a little
less than 2 square miles.

Comparing the data in Table No. 5 for the 20 years from 1898 to
1917 with that in Table No. 6 for the last 5 years of this period it is
found that the amount spent per drain has increased 51% while the
amount spent per mile of drain has increased 54%. The average
length of drain has remained about the same so that this increased
cost is accounted for, in part, by the increased cost of labor and
material, but principally by the increase in depth and bottom widths
of the open drains. This increase seems to have been quite general
throughout the State. The use of tile has also materially increased
as 1,058 miles, or 60% of the total of 1,775 miles of tile laid in county
drains in the State has been installed within the five-year period from
1913 to 1917. As all the factors entering into the increased cost per
drain and per mile of drain, the one of increase in the price of labor
and material alone excepted, have made for more efficient drainage,
from an agricultural standpoint the increases probably have been
well justified.

Cost Analysis of County Drains

Table No. 6 is primarily an analysis of the cost of county drains
for the 5-year period from 1913 to 1917 inclusive, for each county and
for the State as a whole, compiled from data taken from the records
of the county drain commissioners.

As shown in this table the total expenditure for the 5-year period
is $7,962,998.98 as against $6,780,675.15 shown in Table No. 5.
This apparent discrepancy is accounted for by the fact that nearly
26 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

all of the figures in Table No. 5 refer to actual disbursements made
by the county treasurer on drain orders and are definite for the in-
clusive ‘periods. On the contrary the expenditures for part of the
drains analyzed in Table No. 6 for the years 1916 and 1917 will not
be paid for until 1918 and some not until 1919: Also in selecting the
drains at the beginning of the 5-year period it was the plan to
analyze only such drains as were petitioned for after January 1, 1913.
It was not always possible to secure complete detail data relative to
every individual drain in each county. Sometimes within this 5-year
period the records have shown that two or more drains were com-
bined into one drain which sometimes made the number of drains
wotked on in a county rather indefinite.

In comparing expenditures one year with another, or one county
with another, only those figures used in Table No. 5 or in Figures 1
and 2 should be used for the reason that Table No. 6, as already
stated, is not entirely complete. It represents, however, an analysis
of cost which is concise in detail and as nearly complete and uniform
for all counties for the five years as it was practicable to prepare
from the drain records.

A study of Table No. 6 shows that the division of expenditures
in county drains for the State as a whole for the 5-year period be-
tween 1913 and 1917 has been as follows:

TABLE No. 7

Summarized Analysis of Expenditures on County Drains for 5-year Period 1913-1917,
Inclusive:

Construction................-4.
Bridges and Culverts............
Cost of Survey..............04.
PVN Rissa & quae draxesnscaoiaetea wai a seat
Damages si ies ss s.s coves Rare oe a HLS
Recording and Abstracting.......
Probate Fees and Special Com-
missioner...............0005
Cost of Serving Notices..........
Miscellaneous Expenses..........
Contingent...................0.

1
g
$<
S
-
s
=
8

 

Fig. 3 Percentages of expenditures.
DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN. 27

The item of construction includes the cost of all tile used in
county drains and in fact includes everything entering into the actual
construction of the drains with the exception of the bridges and
culverts which have been recorded separately. All these expenditures
can be classified under three general heads, (1) Construction Expenses,
(2) Overhead expenses and (3) Contingent expenses, which includes
items which if they could be properly classified, could be placed under
either of the two foregoing heads. From this it is seen that of all
moneys spent on county drains in the several counties in Michgan
during the 5-year period from 1913 to-1917 inclusive, as shown in
Table No. 6, that 88.18% was Construction expense, including
bridges, 7.39% Overhead expense and 4.43% Contingent expense.
This is a good showing as work of this character ordinarily goes. In
view of the small size of the individual projects it would not have
been surprising to have found that the everhead expense ran as high
as 20% of the total cost of the work. However, it will be said in this
connection, that a better showing could be obtained by combining
drains wherever possible so as to reduce the number of separate
projects to be handled. This would result at the same time, in in-
creasing the average size of the area assessed per drain.

There are three items of expenses in connection with the opera-
tions of the Michigan county drain system that have not been in-
cluded in the data of either Tables No.5 or No. 6 as they are not
paid for directly by the property owner. These are the items of
drain commissioner’s salary, expenses contracted by the drain com-
missioner while on official trips ‘over the county, and in some of the
counties the clerical hire for recording the proceedings in the Drain
Record books. The drain commissioner is paid from the general
fund and in about half the counties it is the practice to pay for re-
cording from the contingent fund but in other counties this expense
is charged against the individual drain funds. No data are at hand
as to the exact amount so spent in the State but for the 5-year period,
1913 to 1917 inclusive, it has not averaged to exceed $1,400 per year
per county for the 70 counties which at present have drain commis-
sioners. In some of the counties the total will greatly exceed this
but in others practically nothing whatever has been spent. Assum-
ing $1,400 to represent a fair annual average, the total for the 70
counties for the five years immediately previous to 1918 would amount
to $490,000. If this be added to the total given in Table No. 6 it
will increase the amount from $7,762,998.98 to $8,452,998.98, and
increases the overhead expense from a total of $588,856.27 to $1,078,-
856.27.
28 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Recomputing the percentages on the basis of these totals it is
shown that 83.07% was for Construction expenses including bridges,
12.76% for Overhead expenses and 4.17% for Contingent expenses,
which still makes a very credible showing.

SUGGESTIONS ON DESIGN OF DRAINS

Certain defects of the present Michigan drain law with respect
to the handling of the larger projects has resulted in the construction
of too many small independent drains. In this manner many
areas of considerable size have been drained piecemeal by the ex-
pensive and unsatisfactory method of building several small ditches
which have been separately applied for, established and constructed
where a single main outlet with a well planned system of laterals,
looking towards the drainage either of the entire watershed or of
complete units, would have served all the lands much bette... Too
often small drains constructed independently, without following any
general plan has resulted in discharging the water from the in-
dividual drains into existing natural or artificial water courses which
already may be overtaxed; resulting in the flooding of the lower lying
lands, thus aggravating the necessity for improvements of the water-
courses. Because of this situation, in fairness to all, an adequate
outlet for all the lands should be designed after the manner indicated
by the map in Figure 4, and in accordance with suggestions which
follow later in this report.

The tendency in the construction, of county drains in Michigan
has too often been to limit the size and depth in order that they might
be of a type readily constructed by teams and scrapers (PI. III) or,
as in many cases, by hand.

This frequently has resulted in securing ditches that were known
to be of insufficient size at the time of construction and which has
necessitated another petition for enlargement at a later date followed
by all the other legal processes.

The evils which follow from this practice could be largely elimi-
nated were the watershed considered in its entirety, or by complete
units, and adequate outlets designed and constructed on this basis.
Also in many cases contracts for the construction of part or all of
the laterals could be let at the time of letting the contract for the’
outlet. In this way the contracts would be larger and attract more
bidders owning and operating different types of ditching machines.
Ultimately a much more effective type of drain would be secured than
it is practical to construct by team or by hand. In the end the cost
would also be less as the larger machine constructed ditches with
Publication 28, Geological Series 23,
Plate IIT

Michigan Geological and
Biological Survey

 

WVGL ONV YAadVeOsS GUVOE HLIM
daadq LAGX YNOK.AHLGIM WOLLOd LOHX AHYHL ‘NIVUGC NAdO dO NOILOAULSNOO

 

 

 
29

DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN.

RIGA TWR R.SE.
fi

\
--12-

        

TWP R.GE

       

|
ae

i)
\
It
i
{

    

6

T.8 5S.

      

      

1 1 *?2
!

1
We ~ 29-~-—

   

1

'
6

BB aa

     

1
Bago

    

2.9

          

          
       

1
ie 8
NDARY

15.0

   

Ground | Surf.

Figure 4. Map and profile of typical drainage project.
30 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

their greater capacities would require but infrequent cleanouts as
compared with the smaller ditches. The drain shown in Pl. VI was
constructed during 1918 to replace a shallow team and scraper ditch
constructed but four years previously in 1914. ,

There are certain practical details that enter into the design of
a drainage system which, of necessity must be left to judgment.
Chief among these is the size and depth of the proposed ditch and
whether it be open or tiled. It is not unusual for these details to be
made wholly matters of guess work without a fair appreciation of
certain well recognized underlying principals. The result of this is
that often, in order to hold down the first cost, the drain is construct-
ed too small and too shallow. This necessitates enlargement by
deepening and widening at some future date, which all too frequently,
is long postponed resulting in partial or entire loss of crops for several
seasons because of insufficient drainage.

Run-off From Watersheds

In the design of a drainage system the first question arising is the
quantity of water that must be cared for in order to give adequate
relief. Now this quantity, called ‘‘run-off’’, will depend principally
upon the amount and distribution of the rainfall and upon the size,
shape and general nature of the area, or watershed under considera-
tion—whether hilly or level—the type of soil, and the character of

surface vegetation.
TABLE No. 8.

Number of storms occurring in different parts of Michigan during 15-year period
from 1902 to 1917 inclusive. (Compiled from U. S. Weather Bureau Records.)

 

24-hour rainfall.

 

Station.

2-3 inches. | 3—4 inches. 4-5 inches. 5-6 inches.

 

 

 

Alpena sosasuceseeeaae snes
Debroiti sec jet RN SGA a
Escanaba (N. P.).............
Grand Haven................
Grand Rapids................

Houghton (N. P.).............
TansSiN@ iss. gies 68 4 4K ediardens
Marquette (N. P.)............
Port: A Wrone. ines 5, 5.25. 5 aeswaanicae s
Sai BW edi wociener soe a ai aivorsthirisiea tied: x

Sault Ste. Marie (N. P.).......

=

WO RPONND OF POU
coceo

ee

—

 

 

COC WORNW NWOCS
.
Oo OFrooC RNOOO

FP COoro

 

The rains in Michigan come ina manner to make for economical
drainage in that they are quite uniformly distributed throughout the
growing season and exceptionally heavy rains of long duration such
as cause a high rate of run-off, are of infrequent occurrence.
Table No. 8 above clearly shows this and ditches constructed on
DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN. 31

a basis of providing for relief from floods following a 24-hour rainfall
of 2 to 3 inches will be satisfactory for ordinary drainage of agri-
cultural lands throughout practically all of the State. However,
in some few localities towards the northern part of the Southern
Peninsula, and in some places in the northern Peninsula, the table
indicates that 24-hour rains of 3 to 4 inches occur often enough to
warrant some consideration in the future development by drainage.

Next in importance to rainfall the size, shape and general surface
features of the watershed should be considered. Other things being
equal, it naturally follows that the larger the watershed the greater
the run-off, although the per cent of the run-off reaching an outlet
ditch, within a given time, will be less for large watersheds than for
small ones. The shape of the watershed should also be considered—
as excess water from a long narrow divide or from a fan shaped
watershed, all parts of which are more or less contiguous to the
drain, will find its way to the drain more quickly than it will from a
watershed of irregular shape, parts of which lie a considerable dis-
tance away from the drain. This does not necessarily increase the
total amount of run-off but it causes heavier floods so that a larger
proportion of the run-off is required to be cared for by the drain,
within a given time. This can only be accomplished by increasing
the size of the drain.

Next after the size and shape of the watershed the surface condi-
tions should be given consideration as both the rate and actual
amount of run-off will be greater from a hilly watershed than from
a flat one.

The kind of soil is a factor in the matter of run-off as clay will
shed surface water more rapidly than will soil of a sandy nature.
For open ditches this is of considerable importance and also for the
larger tile drains that are provided with inlets which permit the
ready entrance of surface water. For a well designed farm lateral
system of tile drains the variations in the type of the soil does not
greatly influence the run-off as the drains are more closely spaced in
the clay soils than in the sandy ones and consequently, while the
water enters the clay more slowly than it does the sand, it has a less
distance to travel after entering the soil before entering the drain.

After having made a study of the factors governing the run-off
from a watershed the actual amount of water the drain should be
designed to carry can then be estimated. This is best done by
assuming that the ditch must be sufficiently large to remove a cer-
tain depth of water from the entire watershed within a period of
24 hours. This depth is generally expressed in fractions of an inch
32 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

and is usually spoken of as “coefficient of run-off.’’ For open outlet
drains for various sizes of watersheds representing average conditions
in Michigan the coefficient of run-off should be 34 inch in 24 hours,
for the smaller watershed areas—one to five square miles; 3 inch
in 24 hours for areas of 20 square miles; 14 inch for areas of 60 square
miles; and 2 inch for areas of 150 square miles.

Table No. 9, following, has been compiled on this basis from the

C. G. Elliott formula C= pe -11.3 in which C is the maxi-

mum rate of run-off in cubic feet per second per square mile and M
is the drainage area in square miles. This table will serve as a guide
to show the quantity of water for which it will be necessary to pro-
vide capacity in the drain if adequate drainage is to be secured.
TABLE No. 9.
Run-off from Michigan Watersheds.

 

Area.

 

Estimated
Rup-off

Acres. Square (Cu. ft. per
miles. second).

 

OD ANAT WWHRO

 

 

 

 
DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN 33

As stated earlier the run-off from areas of equal size will vary,
depending upon certain characteristics of the watershed. Con-
sequently the quantities stated in foregoing table should be slightly
increased or decreased as the local conditions seem to warrant.

Size and Shape of Open Ditches

After having estimated the run-off from the watershed and hav-
ing ascertained the required capacity of the proposed drain the
question of determining the depth and bottom width of the drain
then arises. This will depend in considerable part, upon the grade
or fall, that the drain will have, and upon the shape of the ditch,—
whether side slopes are flat or steep. Generally throughout the State
the side slopes are specified to be 1 to 1, 1144 tol or 14% to 1. It
probably would be better were no slopes steeper than 114 to 1 speci-
fied while for sandy soils the slope should be 2 to 1.

A deep ditch with a narrow bottom has slightly greater capacity
than does a shallow ditch with a wide bottom when the amount of
excavation for each is the same; it is more efficient as a drainage
channel for the reason that it gives deeper, and consequently better
drainage for the adjoining lands during all periods of small flow, and
provides a much better outlet for the tile drainage systems of the
individual farms. Also, water confined in a deep narrow channel
-flows more swiftly than it does in a wide shallow channel. This is
important when the fall is light as the ditch with the highest velocity
of flow will more nearly keep clean. A narrow bottom also serves
better to confine the flow during low stages and thus eliminates the
tendency to form bars such as are so frequently seen where the
low water flow meanders back and forth across the bottom of a wide
drain. However, it is not good practice to design open drains with
bottom widths of less than 2 feet as small drains of this type are much
better tiled.

Exceptions to the foregoing relative to the bottom widths should
be made where the drains are constructed in sandy soils or in soft
mucks. Under these conditions the bottoms of the ditches should
be made wider and the side slopes flatter, no steeper than 2 to 1.

Ordinarily an open ditch should be so constructed as to carry a
depth of water of not less than 6 feet during flood stages and as the
size of the drain is increased the ditch should be designed to carry
an increased depth of water. Ditches of these types must neces-
sarily be machine constructed and more and more throughout the
State the tendency is to build this better class of drains as indicated
by Plates IV, VI, VII, VIII and IX in this Report. Such ditches
afford good outlets for tile drains.
 

 

 

 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

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Publication 28, Geological Series 23,
Plate IV.

 

 

Michigan Geological and
Biological Survey.
DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN 35

In accordance with the foregoing suggestions the following tables
have been compiled showing the amount of water that open ditches
of different bottom widths will carry. Side slopes in all cases 144
to 1 and those ditches in Table No. 10 to carry water 6 feet deep,
and those in Table No. 11 to carry water 8 feet deep, during flood
stage. Taken in conjunction with Table No. 9 for run-off the proper
size of open drains for watersheds within the limits of sizes covered
by these tables, can readily be determined.

An open drain for a watershed should be so designed that it will
not have insufficient capacity in certain sections and excess capacity
in others. This will mean that no drain of any considerable length
will be of the same size throughout its length. The ditch should be
divided into sections and the run-off from the area of land draining
through each section computed, beginning with the upper section
and continuing in order with each section to the outlet. These sec-
tions need not be of the same length as this is often controlled by
local conditions making it desirable to change the size of the drain
where it changes grade or at a junction with another drain or natural
water course.

Giade for Cpen Titches

The grade of an open ditch should be as nearly uniform through-
out, with as few changes, as possible. It will be impossible to keep
the depth uniform and accomplish this—which will necessitate
deeper cutting through the higher land resulting in a slight increase
in the first cost of the drain. However, the general results will be
much more satisfactory in that the ditch will keep cleaner, be more
efficient and more nearly self-maintaining after construction so that
the additional first cost will be well justified. .

Width of Berm

The width of the berm is of importance in the problem of main-
tenance that develops after construction. This width should not be
less than 6 feet for the small team constructed ditches and for the
larger machine constructed ones a width of 8, 10 or 12 feet should
be specified, depending largely on the depth of the ditch and the
character of the soil. Pl. IV.

To illustrate the foregoing relative run-off and design of open
ditches, suppose it be assumed that a project is under. consideration,
the total watershed of which embraces about 19,000 acres, 29.7
square miles, of gently rolling land. Assume the watershed to be
fairly uniform in outline and that the soil of the area is part sand and
part clay with some muck in the lowlands, a more or less typical
36 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Michigan watershed. By survey the outlet drain proposed for the
watershed has been found, should be 5 miles in length. Of these
29.7 square miles it has been determined that 5,000 acres will drain
through the lower end-of the upper section of the ditch which will
be designated as Section No. 1 and which is 34 mile long. It has also
been found that 9,000 acres will drain through the lower end of the
next section designated as Section No. 2 and this section is 1 mile
long. Section No. 3 is 114 miles long and 14,000 acres drain through
the lower end. The outlet end of the drain is at the lower end of
Section No. 4. This section is 2 miles long and through the outlet
the entire watershed of 19,000 acres drains. The survey shows that
it is possible to construct the ditch so that Section No. 1 will have a
fall of 2 feet. per mile, Section No. 2, 4 feet per mile and Sections Nos.
3 and 4, five feet per mile.

By consulting Table No. 9 it is found that Section No. 1 should
have a capacity of 150 second feet, Section No. 2, 255 second feet,
Section No. 3, 370 second feet and Section No. 4, 475 second feet.
Now referring to Table No. 10 it is found that, with the fall per mile
as determined for the several sections, a ditch with a 4.0 foot bottom,
side slopes of 114 to 1 and carrying water to the depth of 6.0 feet will
be about right for Section No. 1 while for Sections Nos. 2, 3 and 4,
the bottom widths should be 6, 9 and 12 feet respectively. The
capacity of a ditch with a 9 foot bottom is not shown in the tables
but from inspection it is obvious that such a ditch will come nearer
having the desired capacity than one with either an 8 or a 10 foot
bottom, as the quantity of 370 cubic feet per second is about half
way between the capacity of the 8 and 10 foot bottom ditches when
the fall is 5.0 feet per mile.

Such lateral drains as it will-be necessary to construct in connec-
tion with the drainage of the larger watersheds should be designed
on a basis of run-off from the area drained by each lateral in the same
manner as for the outlet drain.

In the foregoing watershed of 19,000 acres assume it to be neces-
sary to construct a lateral 1 mile long emptying into the main drain,
having a fall at the rate of 5 feet to the mile, and through the outlet
of which 3,000 acres will drain. The run-off from the 3,000 acres, as
indicated by Table No. 9 will amount to 95 cubic feet per second.
By reference to Table No. 10, it is readily seen that a ditch with a
2 foot bottom width, with a fall cf 5 feet to the mile, will have more
than twice tke required capecity. As it is not to ke desired that an
cyen ditch with bottom wicth cf Ices then 2 fect ke constructed con-
sequently this width should be specified for the lateral.

=
Michigan Geological and Publication 28, Geological Series 23,
Biological Survey. Plate V

 

. CLAIR COUNTY

ST

 

DGE CONSTRUCTING DRAIN SHOWN IN PLATE VI.

4

LAND DRE

 

 

 
Publication 28, Geological Series 23,
Plate VI.

Michigan Geological and
Biological Survey,

    

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OL (GUVA OLMNO UAd %1 80'S LAOPV) COU Wad go24$ AO LSOO LV ‘LI6T NIA aLV Id NI NMOHS
HLAIA

 
 
 

 

 

 

 
DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN. 37

Open ditches with bottom widths, side slopes and fall per mile
the same as in Tables Nos. 10 and 11, but designed to carry a depth of
water of 7.0 feet, will have capacities which may be roughly estimated
as half way between those given in Tables No. 10 and 11. When the
depth of flow of water is 9.0 feet the capacities will be about 40%
greater than in Table No. 10 and when the depth of flow is 10.0 feet
they will be about 80% greater.

CONSTRUCTION METHODS

Greater progress has been made in the methods for handling con-
tracts throughout the State generally than has been made in the
organization and administrative affairs previously discussed and in
many of the counties the construction and contract features of the
work are on a substantial business basis.

There are still several localities where small open ditches con-
structed by team outfits are the rule. No doubt a great amount of
land in Michigan has been drained by this method which however,
is not, adapted to the construction of the deeper, more effective and
more modern type of ditch which is rapidly displacing the shallow
team constructed ditches in so many communities. But it has been
found, that, as the communities developed and more lands were
cleared and the demand for the lower lying lands increased, that
deeper and larger drains were needed in order to prevent overflow
and to more completely drain the lower lying lands.

The necessity for new and deeper drains has led to the use of
dredges of which there are two general types, the land dredge as
illustrated by Pl. V, and Pl. IX, Fig. 1, and the floating dredge as
illustrated by Pl. IX, Fig. 2. The land type of dredge is adapted to
the construction of open drains with sloping sides, depths from 6 to
14 feet and bottom widths from 4 to 12 feet. The floating dredge is
adapted to the construction of larger drains and ditches in swamp
land which is too wet and too soft for any of the land type machines.

Outlets

A very fundamental part of any drainage system is an adequate
outlet, the securing of which is sometimes a serious problem. Ex-
emplifying this Pl. VIII, Fig. 2, shows the outlet for a drain which was
dredged through a sandy ridge. This channel originally was opened
with the land type of dredge similar to that shown in Pl. V. The
original dimensions of this channel were about as follows: depth
23,feet, bottom width 4 feet, top width 28 feet. Dimensions at the
38 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

time the picture was taken less than two years after the channel was
opened were found to be: depth 24 feet, bottom width 35 feet, top
width 125 feet. Conditions seem to indicate that the material was
at that time about stable and that very little, if any additional en-
largement would take place.

In Pl. X, Fig. 2, is shown the lower end of a dredged ditch which
has become more than half filled with fine sand and silt carried down
by the water and deposited because there was no outlet below and
the drain as located had very little, if any, fall.

Pl. XI, Fig. 2, shows the lower end of a drain which is so near the
main stream that a satisfactory outlet cannot be secured until the
water in the main stream is lowered and Pl. X, Fig. 1, shows a dredged
ditch farther back from the main stream than the one shown in the
preceding picture. At this point a good outlet can be secured. The
soil of this particular area is muck and clay and is very fertile.

In the construction of drains to reclaim wet land it sometimes
becomes necessary to construct outlets through ledges of rock. The
outlet for the district shown on the map and profile in Fig. 5 is of this
type. Pl. XI, Fig. 1, shows a waterfall over a rock ledge about 36
feet in height located in the Northern Peninsula. A large area of
land along the stream above the falls cannot be drained until the
rock ledge is lowered and a better outlet provided for the lands along
the river above the fall. In one portion of the valley along this stream
a few drainage ditches have already been constructed.

The utilization of land occupied by spoil banks along machine
constructed channels may be carried out very successfully by grading
off the material. In some counties it is specified that the contractor
so spread the earth taken from the ditch that it may be readily leveled
by the owners of the adjacent land. The beneficial results of such a
practice is well illustrated by Pl. VII, showing a drain where this has
been done and where the land ordinarily occupied by spoil banks is
under cultivation.

Uniform Method of Staking Ditches

In the examination of the drain records in the different counties
it was noted that no uniform practice prevails as to the length of
the station used in staking the ditches, previous to receiving bids. In
some counties a stake is set every 4 rods or 66 feet, in others every 6
roads or 99 feet, in still others every 100 feet while in many the stakes
are set every 8 rods or 132 feet. The law specifically provides that
the drain commissioner ‘shall set survey or grade stakes not more than
eight rods apart,’’ Compiled Laws of Michigan, 1915, Section 4881.
Consequently the greatest length of stations allowable is definitely
Michigan Geological and Publication 28, Geological Series 23,
Biological Survey. Plate VII

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 2. DRAIN, WITH LEVELED SPOIL BANK, DREDGED IN 1896 MADE
POSSIBLE THE RECLAMATION OF A LARGE AREA
OF FERTILE LAND.
Michigan Geological and Publication 28, Geological Series 23,
Biological Survey. Plate VIII.

 

 

Fig. 1. DREDGED DRAIN THROUGH MUCK SOIL, SANDY SUBSOIL.
SANILAC COUNTY.

 

 

Fig.

bo

DRAIN 23 FEET DEEP THROUGH RIDGE OF SAND, MUCK SUBSOIL,
TO DRAIN4SWAMP BACK OF RIDGE. HURON COUNTY.
Michigan Geological and Publication 28, Geological Series 23,
Biological Survey. Plate IX.

 

 

 

Fig. 1. LAND TYPE OF DREDGE CONSTRUCTING OPEN DITCH TEN FEET
DEEP AND TWELVE FEET BOTTOM WIDTH

 

 

 

 

Fig. 2. FLOATING DREDGE, TWO-YARD_ DIPPER, SIXTY-FOOT BOOM,
28x30 HULL. SAGINAW COUNTY.
Michigan Geological and Publication 28, Geological Series 23,
Biological Survey. Plate X.

 

 

Fig. 1. DREDGED DRAIN WHICH DISCHARGED INTO LOWER FLAT AREA.
THIS TYPE OF DRAIN MAY BE ADVANTAGEOUSLY REPLACED WITH
TILE WHEN PROPER OUTLET IS PROVIDED.

 

 

 

Fig. 2. DREDGED DRAIN PARTLY FILLED WITH SEDIMEN YT BECAUSE IT
IT HAS NO OUTLET
Michigan Geological and Publication 28, Geological Series 23,
Plate XI.

Biological Survey.

 

 

 

Vig. 1. FALLS THIRTY-SIX FEET HIGH ON THE TAHQUAMENON RIVER IN
CHIPPEWA COUNTY. THE ROCK LEDGE AT THIS POINT OBSTRUCTS
THE OUTLET FOR DRAINS IN THE VALLEY ABOVE THE FALLS.

IN CHIPPEWA AND LUCE COUNTIES.

 

 
DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN 39

fixed but otherwise the length is entirely optional. It would simplify
somewhat the prepartions of estimates and also make for a uniform
method throughout the State, and at the same time conform with the
general practice followed in all other public works, if the ditches
were staked in 100 foot stations.

Cubie Yard Basis for Letting Contracts

In many of the counties it is still the custom to let the contracts
for excavation, whether new or clean out work, on a basis of so much
per rod of ditch leaving the bidders to estimate the volume of material
to be moved. It would be more satisfactory were these contracts

“let on a basis of cubic yards of material to be excavated. An estimate
of this kind has many advantages for the smaller drains and is almost
indispensible for the larger machine constructed ditches, as a bidder
must have this information if he is to bid intelligently on the job.
If it is not of record, based on careful calculation, he guesses at it
and in order to be safe generally guesses high.

In several counties this practice is already quite generally fol-
lowed and were it done in all it would then be possible for contractors
to bid more intelligently, and for drain commissioners to compare
on a fair basis, prices paid for work in different counties. It would
also enable a commissioner to more intelligently compare prices paid
in different jobs in his own county. The yardage, after computation,
should be made a part of the ‘“‘Minutes of Survey” with the length,
bottom width, depth, side slopes, width of berm and grade of the
ditch and should be included in the published ‘Notice of Letting.”
This would give prospective bidders a definite idea of the nature of
the work under consideration and in the end, in connection with a
uniform length of station, would serve to further standardize and

reduce the cost of the work throughout the State.

TILE DRAINS FOR COUNTY WORK

The use of tile in county drain work is increasing as indicated by
the fact, previously stated in this report, that 60 per cent of the tile
so used has been installed during the five year period, 1913 to 1917.
This increase in the use of tile conforms with the practice in other
States. In Pl. XII, Fig. 1, is shown 27-inch tile that are to be used in
the reconstruction of the shallow open ditch shown in the same pic-
ture. In Pl. XII, Fig. 2, is shown the outlet of a 36-inch tile drain.
The road culvert just above the outlet of this drain is necessary in
this particular case because it is not possible that all the storm water
which reaches the valley be carried off by the tile drain but a certain
40 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

portion of it will flow over the surface of the ground. Culverts of
this type are to be found quite frequently.

Substitution of tile in county work for the smaller open ditches
has many advantages. Chief among these is that, for a slight in-
crease in first cost, a drain is obtained which wastes no ground, does
not cut up fields, calls for but little maintenance, and is as efficient
many years after construction as it was at first. So many of the
small open ditches are no sooner constructed than they begin to fill
in and become less and less effective as time elapses, finally neces-
sitating a clean-out which ordinarily results in an expense about
equal to the first cost of the drain.

The limit to the size of tile for county drains beyond which their
use cannot be justified on account of the cost, must necessarily vary
because of local conditions such as the slope of the land, soil and
subsoil, and also upon the general development of the farming com-
munity. With the prices such as prevail in Michigan during normal
times, the use of tile as large in diameter as 24 inches certainly is
warranted and in many cases the use of tile larger than 24 inches is
well justified. Much depends, however, upon the fall available, as
the greater the fall the more capacity a tile will have. This means
that the area which can drain through a tile of any size will increase
as the fall increases. It is nearly always possible to so design the
drainage system that the fall will somewhat exceed the natural sur-
face slope of the land. This can be accomplished by deepenng the
open ditch part of the system, giving the tilelines good deep outlets.
These tile outlets, while being deep, should not be so near the bottom
of the open ditch that they will be submerged, excepting for short
periods during highwater stages. The depth to which the tile should
‘be laid in the line should be governed by the top of the tile rather
than by the bottom as is done in so many cases and which has resulted
in laying many of the large size tile too shallow. Generally for coun-
ty drains this depth should be not less than about 4% feet which will
mean that the bottom of a 15-inch tile—allowing for the thickness
of the tile walls—will be very nearly 6.0 feet below the ground.

Table No. 12 following has been compiled to show the amount of
land which different size tile will care for when laid with a fall per
mile ranging from 1 foot to 26.4 feet per mile. This fall has been
expressed in three different ways in the table, as a matter of conven-
ience. The areas are figured for outlet drains where surface water is
admitted directly into the tile by suitably constructed inlets and
consequently from a drainage standpoint the tile will act essentially
as an open ditch with respect to the removal of flood waters. For
drains where surface water is not admitted directly into the tile the
number of acres which each size of tile will care for, when laid with
Michigan Geological and Publication 28, Geological Series 23,
Biological Survey. Plate XII.

 

 

 

Fig. 1. OLD TEAM AND SCRAPER DITCH TO BE REPLACED BY 27-INCH
TILE DRAIN. EATON COUNTY.

 

 

 

Fig. 2. OUTLET OF 36-INCH SEGMENTAL BLOCK DRAIN.
EATON COUNTY.
DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

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42 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

the fall as indicated, will in each case be twice that given in the
table.

The latter class of tile drains might well be used to gradually re-
place many of the small open ditches as they come up for clean out.
As in many cases these small ditches have been constructed rather
from the’ standpoint of under drainage than for the removal of flood
waters and could safely be designed on the basis of ability to care
for twice the area as indicated in Table No. 12.

INSPECTION

At frequent intervals in the progress of the construction of county
ditches, it is advisable that the work be checked. In all cases before
final acceptance enough measurements and levels should be taken
by the engineer to definitely ascertain whether the depth and other
dimensions of the ditch are in accordance with the specifications.
The depths of the drain should be checked by the engineer from
established benchmarks wherever possible. For tile work inspection
and checking of grades and depths during construction of the drain
and before final acceptance is even more important than for the open
ditches.

MAINTENANCE

All drainage systems require some maintenance after construc-
tion, if they are to retain anything near their maximum efficiency.
Rapidity of deterioration of ditches varies under different conditions
of soil, subsoil, size and shape of cross sections, grade of the drain
and upon the nature of the vegetation that thrives along the slopes
of the ditch. The drain should be kept free from logs, brush, sods,
from cave-ins, refuse and other obstructions. The slopes of the ditch-
es should be kept free of rank growths of weeds and willows and sap-
lings should be kept grubbed out. This was not done in the case of
the drains shown in Pl. XIII, Figs. 1 and 2. In fact, everything that
reasonably can be, should be done to maintain the efficiency of the
drain for only by so doing can an expensive cleanout be long de-
layed.

Experience in other States indicates that a ditch properly main-
tained will cost less to the landowners over a period of years than if
constructed and allowed to deteriorate until a reconstruction is
necessary. As in the case of the ditch shown in Pl. XIII, Fig. 1,
which is to be replaced by a a machine dug ditch similar to that
shown in Pl. IV.

The maintenance of tile drains is much less of a problem than
that of the open ditches but they sometimes require attention which
if long delayed, may necessitate the digging up and relaying of con-
siderable sections.
Michigan Geological and Publication 28, Geological Serics 23,
Biological Survey. Plate XIII.

 

 

 

Fig. 1. OPEN DRAIN NEARLY FILLEDIN. CONTRACT LET FOR
RECONSTRUCTION WITH LAND TYPE DREDGE.

 

 

 

Fig. 2. TYPICAL OLD OPEN DRAIN IN MARSH PASTURE LAND. DRAIN
ENTIRELY FILLED IN AND GROWN UP WITH VEGETATION. LARGE
TILE WOULD BE PRACTICAL FOR REPLACING THIS DRAIN.
THE MICHIGAN DRAIN LAW 43

CHAPTER IV
THE MICHIGAN DRAIN LAW

PURPOSE OF THE LAW

The construction of drains is provided for in Chapter 93 of the
Compiled Laws of Michigan, 1915, andin the Public Acts of the
Legislature, 1917. The legislature has also passed certain acts which
amend the provisions of certain sections of the general law in certain
counties.

Since the passage of the law its constitutionality has been estab-
lished by the Supreme Court of the State and various judicial deci-
sions have made clear obscure provisions of the statute. The Act
provides ‘‘For the construction and maintenance of drains and the
assessment and collection of taxes therefor, and to repeal all other
laws relative thereto.”’ The law states, (Chapter 93, No. 4870, Sec.
1) “that drains may be located, established, constructed and main-
tained, and drains and water courses may be cleaned out, straigh-
ened, widened, deepened and extended whenever the same shall be
conducive to the public health, convenience or welfare, (No. 4871, Sec
2). The word ‘“‘drain’’ whenever used in this act-shall be deemed to
include any water course or ditch opened or proposed to be opened,
‘and improved for the purpose of drainage and any artificial ditch
or drain, levee, dike, or barrier, or tile drain proposed or constructed
for such purposes.” ,

The responsibility for initiating the petition for the drain rests
entirely with the land owners whose lands will be traversed by such
dceain, who must file an application requesting the establishment of
the drain with the county drain commissioner. The drain, but not
the assessment district, is covered by the petition.

After the application is filed, the drain commissioner becomes
the executive officer charged with the duty of carrying out the pro-
visions of the law. The operation of the law and the relationship
of the various parties to the proceedings are shown in diagram,
Figure 5, to which references are made in the following paragraphs.

PROCEDURE IN ESTABLISHING A DRAIN

The law provides that when it is desired to take action in regard
to a given drain that an application requesting the desired action,
signed by not less than one-half the freeholders whose lands are
traversed by the drain, shall be filed with the county drain com-
missioner (1, Figure 5).
4d DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Upon the filing of an application for a drain, the county drain
commissioner is required to submit the petition to the township
board in the township through which the drain passes (2, Figure 5).

The board advertises in a newspaper for one week and holds a
meeting and proceeds to determine the necessity of said drain and
whether the same is necessary and conducive to the public health,
convenience and welfare. At this meeting all persons whose lands
are liable to assessment for the drain, or whose lands are crossed by
the drain may appear for or against the drainage proceedings. After
hearing the evidence offered, the board determines whether or not
the drain is necessary and conducive to the public health, conven-
ience and welfare. If the board’s action is unfavorable the petition
is dismissed and no further petition for the drain is legal within one
year of the date of such determination. If the board’s action is
favorable an order is made to that effect and filed with the county
drain commissioner (8, Figure 5).

The commissioner, as 2 means of determining the practicability
of the drain, now has a survey made of the proposed drain (4, Figure
5). The minutes of the survey are then prepared from the notes of
the survey for use in the First Order of Determination. (5, Figure 5.)

If the commissioner finds that the drain is practicable, he makes
the First Order of Determination naming the drain and giving the
essential facts in regard to it and the drain is staked out on the
ground to show its exact location as described in the petition.
(6, Figure 5.)

Until twenty days after the first order of determination any
person who may consider himself aggrieved by the determination
of necessity or by the survey, may make application to the probate
court for the appointment of an engineer. Upon receipt of such
application the court notifies the County Drain Commissioner and
the State Highway Commissioner. It is the duty of the State High-
way Commissioner to appoint an engineer, who confers with the
County Drain Commissioner and the aggrieved land owner and makes
such investigations and surveys as he deems proper to determine
the necessity for the drain. His decision in regard to the necessity
for the drain is final.

The drain commissioner, after making the first order of deter-
mination proceeds to secure right of way for the drain. This seem-
ingly minor matter is in-reality a very considerable task on most
drains, (7, Figure 5). In the event that any land owner refuses
voluntarily or is prohibited by law to grant a release of right of
way the commissioner makes application to the probate court for
45

THE MICHIGAN DRAIN LAW

 

DRAIN

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OWNERS wens WHO REFUSE To a
MAJORITY OF OWNERS OF DETERMI-|| OWNERS OF LAND tH ui OBJECTING OWNERS OWNERS AGGRIEVED BY APPORTIO! MORE
LAND TRAVERSED BY DRAIN NATION || TRAVERSED By DRAIN] | [HEARING] OFFER (IF ANY) MENT OF PERCENT OF BENEFITS OWNERS
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HAS BEEN FILED SURVEY OF DETERMINATION DETERMINE DAMAGE OF DETERMINATION jo] ) LETTING conTRACT }) = & Se OF HEARING ASSESSMENT ROLL =

 

 

 

COUNTY

 

DRAIN COMMISSIONER

 

Compiled by P.T.Simans, 1918

Figure 5. Diagram showing operation of Michigan Drainage Law,

 

 
46 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

the appointment of three special commissioners ora jury of twelve free-
holders to determine the necessity of {he drain and for the taking of
private property for the use and benefit of the public, and the just
compensation to be made for the property taken.

The probate court to whom such application is made makes an
examination of all the proceedings of the county drain commissioner .
so far as had and if they are found in accord with the statute the
court sets a time and a place for the hearing and issues a citation to
all persons who have not released rights of way and all who claim
damages, to appear at the time and place and be heard. The court,
at the time and place set, proceeds to hear all persons whose lands
are traversed by the drain. If no sufficient cause is shown against
granting the application, the court makes an order appointing three
disinterested and competent freeholders as special commissioners to
ascertain and determine the necessity for such drain and to appraise
the compensation to be allowed to the owners of the property to be
taken for the right of way.

Any freeholder who has not released the right of way may demand
a jury at any time before the appointment of the special commis-
sioners. The special commissioners or jury view the premises and
hear the interested parties, and file their award with the county
drain commissioner. The drain commissioner deducts the damages
from the benefits when made and pays the balance to each land
owner in case the damages exceed the benefits. Special provision
is made for securing right of way across the property of railroad
companies. The jury, if one be appointed, makes its report to the
probate judge who reports to the Drain Commissioner. The special
commissioners or jury may determine the drain to be unnecessary
and in such case the drain commissioner shall dismiss the proceed-
ings for a year at the cost of petitioners.

After all the right of way for a drain is secured the drain com-
missioner makes a Final Order of Determination establishing the
drain along the route designated by the survey (8, Figure 4) and then
proceeds to determine which lands will be benefited by the drain and
to establish the special assessment district to apportion the per cent
of benefit to each tract of land and to let contracts for the con-
struction of the drain.

The county drain commissioner is required to give not less than
10 days notice of the time and place of letting by serving personal
notice upon every person whose lands are affected by the assess-
ment and who reside in the township or township affected. Notice
must also be given by publication and by posting notices in the man-
ner prescribed by the law. The notice shall contain a description
THE MICHIGAN DRAIN LAW 47

of the lands to be assessed and shall also state that the assessment
of per cent of benefits on the land within the district shall be subject
to review on the day of the letting or at such other time and place
as the county drain commissioner may adjourn to. (9, Fig..5.)

This notice although it is termed ‘“‘Notice of Letting Drain Con-
tract,’’ is primarily intended to serve as a notice to land owners to
inform them that special assessments are to be made against their
lands to pay for the drain.

At the time and place of letting and before receiving bids, the
county drain commissioner usually by a vote of the tax payers,
determines whether the taxes to be spread for benefits to lands shall
be assessed and collected in one, two or three years.

For approximately 60 per cent of the drains in the State the assess-
ments have been paid in a single installment and for nearly all of the
other drains the assessments have been paid in two annual install-
ments, three installments being very rarely used. On the day of the
letting the drain commissioner announces the per cent of benefit
apportioned to each tract of land. (10, Figure 5.) Bids are then
received and contract let for the construction of the drain to the
lowest responsible bidder. (11, Figure 5.)

The owner of any land assessed for any benefit or the construc-
tion of a drain who may consider himself aggrieved by the assess-
ment made by the county drain commissioner, may, within ten days
after the day of review, make application to the probate court for
the appointment of a board of review. The court, upon receipt of
such application shall notify the county drain commissioner and shall
then appoint three disinterested freeholders of such county not
resident of the township or townships affected, as members of the
board of review. A time and place where such board shall review
the assessment shall then be fixed. Due notice of the hearing must
be given to all interested parties. At such hearing the board shall
hear all parties with respect to the matter of appeal and shall view
the lands benefited by the drain and review all assessments on such
drain and if in their judgment there be manifest error or inequality
in such assessment, they shall order and make such changes as they
deem equitable. The action and decision of the board shall be final
and shall be delivered in writing to the county drain commissioner.

The proceedings in establishing any drain is also subject to re-
view upon certorari, provided the proceedings are instituted within
ten days after the Final Order of Determination is filed with the
county clerk.

Within ten days after the letting of contract, or in case of an
appeal immediately after the appeal is decided, the county drain
48 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

commissioner shall make a computation of the entire cost of the
drain which shall include all expenses incurred in connection with
the same. (12, Figure 5.)

The county drain commissioner shall make a special assessment
roll for the drain for each township or townships and city affected
thereby. This roll shall contain all information necessary for levying
the tax and shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the township or
city in which such lands are situated. The clerk shall deliver a cer-
tified statement of the several amounts of drainage taxes to be assessed
during the coming year and a description of the property to be asses-
sed to the supervisor of the township. It is the duty of the super-
visor to spread on his roll the total amount of the drainage taxes and
the description of the lands to which they are assessed. (13, Figure 5.).

All drainage taxes assessed are subject to the same provisions
and are collected in the same manner as state and other general
taxes by the township treasurer and paid by him to the county
treasurer. The county drain commissioner issues orders on the
county treasurer for services rendered and work done. The funds
for each drain are kept separately and expended for that drain only.
(14, Figure 5.)

' The clause ‘‘public health, welfare and convenience’’ is the basis
upon which all taxation for public improvements is made.

The benefits, however, which result to any agricultural commu-
nity when certain of the lands are improved and made to produce
more by drainage are actual benefits and definitely increase the
welfare of the community, the county and the State, and are not
dependent upon any real or fancied betterment of the health and
increase in convenience.

Drainage under the county system is in every sense a community
problem although it is often hard for some of the property owners
of the higher lying and better drained lands (whether ‘naturally or
artificially drained) within a watershed, to realize that their lands
should be assessed for benefits for the construction of a drain, from
which they may apparently receive no direct benefits. It is true,
however, that the rain falls in equal amounts on the highest and on
the lowest acre in the watershed. It is also true that as much falls.
on the driest acre as on the wettest and is no respecter of fence lines
or the farm unit. A part of all this water ultimately must be cared
for by the drain. It becomes a burden upon the community and it
is impossible for the individual farm unit to escape the responsibility
of assisting in some measure in caring for such part of the burden as
originates on land comprising the unit. It matters not whether this
water reaches the county drain directly or indirectly, whether through
THE MICHIGAN DRAIN LAW 49

small open or tile farm_drains or whether it runs in plow furrows into
the roadside ditches, and from there finally into some part of the
county system. All lands contributing water to a drain are not
equally benefited by the drain and because of this the principal of
assessing the costs of the drain in proportion to benefits has been
worked out and when this principal! is carefully applied the results
are probably as equitable as it is possible to make any system of
taxation.

It is the duty of the county drain commissioner to make a full
record of each drain in the drainage record books of the county
(15, Figure 5). All original papers must be filed with the county
clerk and the law provides, ‘that no drain tax shall be spread until
all records have been deposited and filed in the office of the county

clerk.”
: The county drain commissioner may without petition, on the
written request of one or more tax payers on a drain, expend an
amount not to exceed 10 per cent of the original cost in repairing the
drain where in his opinion an emergency condition exists, endanger-
ing crops or property.

Whenever a drain or portions thereof needs cleaning out, any
five freeholders of the town or township in which the drain is situated
one or more of whom must own land liable for assessment, may make
application to the county drain commissioner setting forth the
necessity of such proposed work and the county drain commissioner
shall then proceed in the same manner as provided for locating,
establishing or extending a drain. If the work is found necessary,
he shall fix the per cent of cost that the owners of the land benefited
shall pay. -Assessments shall be made according to benefits received
and shall be subject to appeal as when a drain is established. The
commissioner shall cause to be published at least once in a newspaper
a notice which shall give the time and place of letting the contract;
and shall also cause notices to be posted in regard to the letting in
the manner provided by law. The steps thereafter to be taken as
provided for in laying out and establishing a drain. If necessity for
such cleaning out arises from the act or neglect of any land owners
such act or neglect shall be taken into consideration in making the
assessment. The county drain commissioner may in his discretion
without: application use any surplus funds for cleaning out obstruc-
tions.

In case a drain is to be deepened, widened, or straightened, the
county drain commissioner shall make his First Order of Determina-
tion and steps thereafter shall be taken as provided for by law in
establishing a drain.
50 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

All the powers conferred for establishing and constructing drains .
and for the enforcement of assessment, ‘shall include the deepening,
the widening or extending of any drain which has been constructed
or may be constructed and the straightening, cleaning out and
deepening the channel of creeks or streams and the constructing and
maintaining, remodeling and repairing of levees, dikes and barriers
for the purpose of drainage. The commissioner may relocate or extend
the line of any drain if the same be necessary to secure an outlet,
provided that no proceeding affecting the rights of persons or property
shall be had, except upon like application, notice, hearing and
award as provided for the construction of the drains.

Whenever any person shall obstruct any established drain it is
the county drain commissioner’s duty to compel the removal of the
obstruction. The person causing such obstruction shall be liable
for all expenses of removing the obstruction provided that the
owners or occupants be given five day’s notice to remove the ob-
struction.

DRAINS WHICH AFFECT MORE THAN ONE COUNTY

When it is decided to locate, establish, widen, deepen or extend
a drain traversing more than one county or affecting land in two or
more counties, an application therefor shall be made to the county
drain commissioner of either county traversed by the proposed
drain. The application shall be subject to the same obligations and
liabilities as for a drain in one county except that the application is
not passed upon by the township boards. If upon examination, the
county drain commissioner shall deem the drain necessary and for
the good of the public health, welfare and convenience, he fixes a
time and place of meeting and notifies the county drain commissioners
of the other county or counties to be affected and furnishes them
copies of the application. The commissioners meet at the time and
place fixed and thereafter jointly take all steps and perform all acts
and sign all papers as county drain commissioners are required to
do in other drains, including application to probate court.

If they are unable to agree in regard to anything pertaining to
the drain they may appeal to the State Highway Commissioner who
has the right to subpoena witnessess and take testimony relative
to the drain, and his decision is final.

Right of way is secured in the same manner as for a drain in one
county. Before the contract for construction is let, the county
drain commissioners agree upon the per cent of the cost of construc-
tion that each county shall bear. If they cannot agree they appeal
THE MICHIGAN DRAIN LAW 5l

to the State Highway Commissioner who apportions the costs be-
tween the counties. Each county drain commissioner then assesses
the per cent of benefit accruing to the lands in the county for which
he serves in the same manner as he would for a drain located entirely
in that county. Each commissioner is required to make a full record
of the drain in the drainage record book of the county for which he
serves and a certified copy of each paper shall be filed in the office of
the county clerk of each county.

Cleaning and widening, deepening or extending, on joint county
drains are handled in the same way as for drains in one county by
the drain commissioners of the counties affected by the drain in a
manner similar to that provided for drains in one county and if they
are unable to agree they may appeal to the State Highway Commis-
sioner whose decision is final.

DEFICIENCIES IN PRESENT PROCEDURE

The first law provided means by which a farmer could secure an
outlet across his neighbor’s lands for the ditch necessary to drain
his farm. As the country became more thickly settled the necessity
for larger drains in which a number of land owners were interested
became apparent and the first crude public drain law was passed.
As need for better drainage developed, or a clearer idea of existing
need obtained, the law was either amended or a new law passed.
In this manner, the present methods of drainage in the State and
the present drain law were developed.

Under the provisions of the Michigan drain law now in force

-about 9,300 drains, having a combined length of nearly 20,000 miles
and costing over $18,000,000 have been constructed. The investiga-
tions show that in general this law has quite successfully served the
purpose for which it was passed. As a rule the organization of and
construction of the drains have been accomplished within a reason-
able period of time after the work was initiated, although. on many
drains there have been serious delays. The administration and
overhead charges in most instances have been low. At every stage
of the proceedings ample opportunity is given to land owners who
may feel aggrieved to appear and have any mistakes or injustices
corrected. The litigation over drainage matters, except in a few
counties has been almost negligible and the showing in this respect
compares very favorably with that of other States.

In working under the law the officials charged with the adminis-
tration of the affairs of the drain find that certain difficulties in the
operation of the law tend to increase the time required to establish
52 " DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

and construct a drain, to make it impossible to always secure the
most efficient drain and to increase the cost of a drain and in few
instances to entirely prevent land owners from securing drainage
outlets. Any or all of these difficulties may occur in connection with
any drain.

The petition or application for a drain on which the whole pro-
ceeding rests covers a drain limited as to size, location and kind by
the petition of individuals who may have, but who frequently do
not have, the best information obtainable as to size, location, kind
of, and most economic drain which might be used in a given territory.
A majority of the owners whose lands are to be traversed by a drain
must sign the original petition and it is not possible for other owners
whose land would not be crossed by the drain to initiate a project
no matter how wet their lands may be or how badly they may need
improved drainage. Parties desiring to drain certain lands have
been unable to secure a lawful petition because a majority of owners
of land to be traversed by the drain refused to sign the petition, even
though a majority of the owners of the land to be assessed to pay
for the drain were in favor of the project.

The interpretation of the law which requires the applicants for
a drain to state in the petition the location of a drain, its course,
commencement and ending point often hinders work which would
otherwise be undertaken or it leads to the construction of inade-
quate drains. In many instances an inefficient poorly designed drain
has been constructed because the location or size was limited by the
petitioners who were not fully informed as to the proper location or
size which should have been adopted. In certain sections of the
State property owners would prefer to leave these facts to be deter-
mined by a survey, but drain commissioners are not authorized to
establish a drain which is not definitely located by the application.
Furthermore, the land to be benefited is not described in the peti-
tion although it would appear that the approximate amount of land
to be benefited should be known before the necessity for the drain is
determined.

For a small drain the land owners usually have a good idea as to
the general requirements but for a large drain they have no idea of
the necessary requirements and this can be obtained only after sur-
veys have been made to determine the essential facts in regard to
the project and the ditches are then designed to give the required
drainage. The law makes no provision for such surveys and requires
that certain facts in regard to the drain or drains shall be fixed in
the application and these cannot be varied later. In certain counties
of the State the necessity for this information has been recognized
THE MICHIGAN DRAIN LAW 53

and it has become the common practice in these counties for the
drain commissioner and the engineer to work out a plan of drainage
for a given area before the application for the drain is filed. However,
it would be much better if the application merely described the land
to be drained and the general location of the drain or drains, leaving
the details in regard to the location, points of beginning and ending,
and the size and depth of the drain necessary, to the Drain Com-
missioner or Engineer, after sufficient data have been secured by the
preliminary surveys on which to base the design of the system.

Prior to the letting of the contract no official estimate or cost of
a drain is prepared and consequently the tax payers have no definite
basis from which to determine the probable amount of money they
will require to pay for the drain. However, various unofficial esti-
mates of cost are prepared for practically all drains by tax payers
or other individuals and usually data for such estimates are incom-
plete or meager. This method often leads to the preparation of un-
reliable statements under the guise of estimates which frequently
results in arousing opposition to worthy projects because the esti-
mates of cost are excessive or on the other hand, it may result.in
making projects of doubtful worth appear to be feasible because the
estimates are too low. Because of this situation a reliable official
estimate of cost is desirable for all drains of any considerable size.
The lack of proper information on which properly to base the appli-
cation has resulted in the construction of many ineffective drains,
and in many cases has greatly increased the cost of the work. The
investigations forming the basis of this report show that the best
results have been secured where the drain commissioner has realized
the advantages that come from the construction of properly designed
drains, but in many counties where larger work has been handled
without competent engineering advice, many expensive mistakes
have been made.

The time required to secure action by the township board causes
a serious delay in the proceedings without adding any apparent cor-
responding benefit. Frequently the board in ascertaining and deter-
mining the necessity for a drain acts in a superficial or arbitrary
manner and in reality contributes nothing of value to the drain
proceedings. When the drain passes through two or more townships
the proceedings become unnecessarily cumbersome.

The actual value of land required for right of way is much less
than the value of the special assessments which are levied to pay
for drain yet the acts necessary to secure the right of way are fre-
quently more expensive and require more time than the making of
assessments of benefits. The practice of not requiring land owners
54 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN.

to claim damages on account of the construction of the ditch, or for
the land taken for rights of way, has been followed for several years
in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, and other States which have or
have had, large drainage problems and the same authority that as-
sumes benefits also allows damages; Kansas recently so amended its
drainage law as to provide for this. This method has the effect of
simplifying and expediting the proceedure, lowering the cost and
reducing litigation—all desirable changes from the viewpoint of the
land owner. Ordinarily the authority that assesses benefits has
made a complete study of the project and consequently is in a better
position to equitably assess damages than is any other authority.

In some of the counties of the State considerable difficulty also
has: been experienced under the Michigan Act in securing rights of
way from railroads for drains.

The amount of recording now required for each drain is large and
considerable duplication occurs. Frequently for a drain of ordinary
size the record covers 100 or more large record book pages. The
minutes of survey after having been recorded once reappear many
times in other papers. In one record that was examined it had been
copied 13 times. In preparing statements to show the area of land
embraced in assessing districts, the per cent of benefit apportioned
to the separate tracts of land, and the assessment of cost of a drain,
three separate statements or lists are prepared and recorded. The
records could be materially shortened by combining these three
statements and making a single lists of lands benefited. The number
of acres of land assessed in each tract and the total acreage in the
district are not recorded on the assessment roll.

The law makes no provision for paying expenses incurred in
connection with the drains before the taxes are levied and paid ex-
cept that payment may be made for the surveyor’s services from the
general fund of the county. Orders cannot be drawn on the drain
fund until the contract is let and are not payable until March 15
of the year in which the taxes are required to be paid, and do not
bear interest except after drain taxes become delinquent. The ina-
bility to make payments in cash for expenses incurred in connection
with the drain does not make for efficiency.

The law requires that personal notice of the letting of a contract
for the construction of the drain shall be given to all land owners
whose lands will be assessed. Notice is also given by advertising
in a newspaper and by posting notices. On a large drain where there
are many landowners the serving of personal notices is a task of
considerable magnitude, the necessity for which is not apparent.
THE MICHIGAN DRAIN LAW 55

In some States formerly having drain laws similar to the Michigan
Act, considerable change in procedure has been made. Personal
service of notice in regard to the drain or assessment rolls has been
quite generally abandoned; notice being given by publication in
newspapers and by posting of notices in public places in the district.

The contractor for the work performed on Michigan County
Drains is required to finance the construction until the taxes are paid.
When the taxes are paid in one year this is not a serious matter, but
when the taxes are paid in two or three installments it may materially
increase the cost of the work to the land owners.

Information obtained during the investigation indicates that in
a few counties the increased cost where payment was deferred to
two years was from 10 to 20 per cent, and probably averages about
10 percent. This increase is substantially the same as is found in
other States where payments are deferred. The ability to pay a
contractor in cash materially reduces the cost of the work as the
contractor is not required to discount the orders or carry them until
funds are available.

In order to have a drain cleaned out it is necessary to file an
application with the county drain commissioner who determines
the per cent of benefit assessed to each tract and then proceeds as
though he were constructing a new drain. There is a demand for a
simpler and more expeditious method of cleaning out drains. Ex-
perience in other States indicates that an annual tax for maintenance
is advisable and results in better drainage at a lower average annual
cost than where the drains are repaired and cleaned only after the
have become practically imperative.

No provision is made in the law for a land owner whose land is
not traversed by a drain to secure an entrance to the drain across
land owned by another party. If the matter cannot be arranged be-
tween owners the only way the outlet can be secured is by securing
necessary signatures to an application and then constructing a drain
in the manner provided by law. A einplet and quicker method than
that now available is needed,

Many features of the present method of handling drains which
affect two or more counties are not very satisfactory. Some counties
may be vitally interested in a project but others may be interested
but slightly. This inequality of interest is certain to cause delay
where no centralized authority is provided. When a number of
counties are interested in a drain the procedure becomes very slow
and cumbersome as each county drain commissioner must sign all
orders and papers connected with the work. If a drain were to be
56 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

undertaken involving one of the larger streams in the State, as many
as 20 drain commissioners might be required to sign each paper.
Such a large body cannot work efficiently and rapidly and would
make the administrative expense heavy.

NECESSITY FOR BONDING PROVISION

The problems connected with the drainage of agricultural lands
are complex, depending upon many factors and are continually
changing. In the early days land was cheap and when the cost of
contemplated drainage went beyond certain limits, it was deemed
cheaper to buy other land with better natural drainage. As the value
of, and demand for land increased it often became profitable to re-
claim lands which a few years earlier the cost for reclamation would
have made prohibitive. ,
| In" many localities small drains have been constructed which
empty into a natural water course, which does not give an adequate
outlet, and which must be dredged before much of the land im-
mediately tributary to it can be properly drained. The improve-
ment of this outlet is frequently expensive and the cost to the lower
lying lands, which frequently are undeveloped, is so high that it is
very difficult if not impossible for the land owners to pay for the
construction under the method that now prevails. When cultivated
lands could be cheaply reclaimed by a drain, the land owners could
readily pay for the work in one or two years. As the cost of drainage
increased it became difficult and sometimes impossible to do this.
The necessity for paying for the construction-of drains within a
comparatively short time has had the effect of delaying or wholly
preventing the construction of large projects draining an entire
watershed although from every standpoint these larger projects
are most desirable. This difficulty in constructing outlet drains
is one of the reasons why so many small drains such as are so numer-
ous on Plates I and II are constructed.

Many large tracts of timbered wet land are still to be reclaimed
in the State, and many of these are so located that physical conditions
make it necessary that they be drained as units, if adequate drainage
is to be secured. Much of this type of land is so wet that it cannot
be cultivated until it is drained, so that drainage of necessity must
be the first step in the development of these lands. After the outlet
ditches are constructed the lands must then be cleared and the
field ditches built before they can be made to yield an income to the
owner. As is well known by everyone who has had experience with
THE MICHIGAN DRAIN LAW 57

such lands this takes considerable time especially if the fields to be
cleared are large. The farmer who is trying to reclaim such lands
usually is not in a position to make large payments for the con-
struction of drains. To meet this condition it is desirable that some
arrangement be made under the terms of which the construction
work can be financed and payment for the work deferred until the
land is producing and yielding returns.

Many States having undeveloped wet lands similar to many of
those in Michigan, have met this difficulty by giving the assessment
district the right to issue bonds which later are paid off from the
taxes collected from the landowners. These bonds command a
ready sale and in many States the landowner is given the privilege
of paying only the interest on the bonds for the first few years while
the lands are being brought under cultivation, after which the bonds
are then paid off in annual installments. This arrangement has
worked well in Minnesota and many of the southern States.
58 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

CHAPTER V

NECESSITY FOR CREATION OF STATE DEPARTMENT TO
HANDLE WATER RESOURCES AND
DRAINAGE MATTERS.

On some of the larger streams in the State there are situations
where in addition to providing for drainage or overflow provision
must be made for protecting cities, villages and industries along the
stream. Such projects must be handled as a unit if the best results
are to be secured. The attempt of one interest to protect itself
without a study of the problem as a whole, generally leads to dissen-
tion and piecemeal work. Frequently ultimate failure results; in
any event the solution of the problem is sure to prove more satis-
factory in the end, and very much less expensive, if all interests
unite in their efforts to secure protection.

The present law, although well adapted to small drains, was not
enacted to cover such situations and does not meet the needs of these
projects. The boundaries of these larger projects are fixed by topo-
graphic conditions and do not in any way necessarily coincide with
the boundaries of the political subdivisions of the State. Such pro-
jects are not confined to Michigan alone but occur in all the States;
several of which have worked out methods for handling them. Ex-
perience in other States has shown it to be desirable to centralize
control of the entire project with some local board or commission
which is given very broad powers and has full control of the project
and all matters relating to it. This board or commission is given the
power to employ such assistants as may be needed, to let contracts,
and to assess and collect taxes, condemn rights of way and to finance
the project by selling bonds. .The interested property owners are
given the right to be heard in regard to initiating the project and after
it has been initiated, are generally given an opportunity to decide
whether or not it shall be carried on after the plans and estimates
of cost have been prepared and individual rights are fully protected.

The Saginaw River may be cited as a concrete example of the
complexity of the problem arising, because of the interrelation of
many interests, when an attempt is made to improve the agricultural
lands lying within a large river basin.

This river which is navigable for boats of considerable draught
from its mouth to Saginaw, furnishes domestic water for the city
and serves as a medium for the sewage disposal. A number of power.
CREATION OF DRAINAGE DEPARTMENT 59

plants have been constructed on certain principal tributaries and
more are contemplated, and there are about 50,000 acres of over-
flowed land lying within the forks of the tributaries forming the
main streams. This overflow area now acts as a large storage reser-
voir retarding the flood waters and thus reducing the maximum flood
heights along the lower reaches of the streams. The overflow land
is all good agricultural-land and if reclaimed by drainage and levees
would produce valuable crops. To reclaim this land will necessitate
the improving of the channel of the river if the height of the floods
now occurring on the river are not materially increased which is not
to be desired as even now floods cause serious damage both to the
low lands along the streams and to the cities and villages. Indeed,
the situation has become so serious that an injunction has been served
forbidding further work on the principal tributaries until provision
has been made for taking care of the water that will be brought
down. The injunction blocks much needed work on several tributary
streams where it is badly needed for the reclamation of agricultural
lands. No one of the interests is paramount and they vary somewhat
in importance but all are of considerable magnitude and any com-
prehensive scheme of reclamation should take all of them into con-
sideration. Situations similar to those along the Saginaw River
exist along many of the large streams in the State.

If the best results are to be obtained, control of the larger stream
must be centralized. This would tend to harmonize the relations
of the various divergent interests and work could be conducted as
it cannot be at the present time, which would accomplish much
toward the development of the State’s natural resources.

There would be much advantage to the drainage work in the
State in having a central body that could assist the various drain
commissioners with their problems. Under the county unit system
in use at present, difficulties and delays occur in determining the
necessity for proposed drainage improvements, for large projects
particularly where the land lies in several counties.

For projects of these kinds a preliminary report, prepared along
approved engineering lines, to show the plans and estimated cost
of the work should be submitted to a State authority qualified to
pass upon the necessity for making the improvement.

For projects situated in several counties the State authority would
designate the proper drain commissioner to take charge of the
project and thereby extend the authority of that commissioner to
cover the whole territory involved regardless of county lines.
60 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

For all projects submitted the State office should be authorized
to approve, modify or reject the preliminary and final plans and
estimates, and no improvements should be constructed without the
approval of the office. ,

The office should be authorized to determine the necessary quali-
fications for all civil engineers or surveyors employed to have charge
of the making of surveys, plans and estimates for the larger projects
and it should be required that any persons placed in charge of
engineering work for the drainage assessment district should be
properly qualified for the work.

The preparation of standard plans and specifications and uniform
methods for making such improvements as could be standardized
should be carried out in the State office. Under this division of the
work would come the making of a standard for recording important
data concerning a drain, for the stating of important information
only in printed notices, and the elimination of the very long records
and legal forms and printing which under present methods are too
expensive. Methods for inspecting and maintaining drains after the
construction is completed should properly be worked out by the
State office.

On appeal from the action of a county drain commissioner all
questions affecting. a special drain assessment district should be
referred to the State office for decision.

The office should work in cooperation with other State authorities
and institutions in determining whether certain drainage projects
could be economically developed and should prepare general plans
for the development of the larger projects which, could not be
handled by local authority. In these larger projects the .deter-
mination of the quality of soil, probable increase in land settle-
ment and in agricultural pursuits in the locality where improvements
are proposed should be considered. In certain portions of the
State notably in the northern portion of the Southern Peninsula
and in a very considerable portion of the Northern Peninsula where
there has been practically no drainage development, the need for
thorough and careful planning on a large scale is most apparent.
The location of projects which could be developed profitably and
the working out of methods for reclaiming land for agricultural
purposes and for financing the projects until the land could be made
productive are problems which should be handled under State
authority. Besides having direct authority to handle drainage
matters the office should be authorized to compile data on the sub-
CREATION OF DRAINAGE DEPARTMENT 61

ject of land reclamation to be issued as advice or information to
interested parties including present and prospective land owners,
legislators, county and state authorities, industrial organizations
and educational institutions.

There are at present several State agencies which are doing more
or less work on different phases of the drainage problem, among
which are the Board of Health, Highway Commission, Public Do-
main Commission, University of Michigan, Michigan Agricultural
College and the State Geological and Biological Survey. Their
efforts are not correlated, however, and without this the larger
drainage problems of the State can never be satisfactorily and
economically handled.
62 - DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

CHAPTER VI

ABSTRACTS OF DRAINAGE LAWS OF GEORGIA, IOWA,
MISSOURI, OHIO AND WISCONSIN.

DRAINAGE LAW IN GEORGIA*
(As passed in Laws of 1911 and amended in Laws of 1913 and 1917.)

Section one of the drainage law creates a Court composed of the
Clerk of the Superior Court and the Board of Commissioners of
Roads and Revenues, or if there be no such Board, then the Ordinary
of the county, with authority to establish levee and drainage dis-
tricts. When the landowners desire to form a levee or drainage dis-
trict of any particular land a petition, signed either by a majority
of the landowners living in the proposed district or by the owners
of three-fifths of all the land, is filed with the Clerk of the Superior
Court of any county in which part of the land is located. This peti-
tion must describe the land to be included in the district in such man-
ner as to give a clear idea of its location. It also must set forth that
the land is too wet for cultivation and that the public health and
welfare will be promoted by a system of drainage. Accompanying
the petition must be a bond acceptable to the Clerk of the Court,
to cover all costs in case the request of the petitioners is not approved.
To the landowners who have not joined in the petition the Clerk of
the Court must issue a summons notifying them that the petition has
been filed

On the day when the summons is returned, the Clerk of the Court
appoints a Board of Viewers composed of a civil and drainage engineer
and two resident owners of real property of the county. It is the
duty of this board to examine the lands. described in the petition
with a view to determining the most practicable route, and to return
to the Clerk of the Court within thirty days a written report setting
forth

1. Whether or not the proposed drainage is practicable.

2. Whether it will benefit the public health, or any public
highway, or be conducive to the general welfare of the com:
munity

3. Whether the improvement proposed will in fact benefit
the lands sought to be benefited.

4. Whether or not all the lands that are benefited are
included in the proposed drainage district.

*Bulletin No. 32, Geological Survey of Georgia. Discussion of Georgia la:
ee ieabert on Drainage Organization, Bureau of Public Roads, U. B Wanereee of
griculture.
DRAINAGE LAWS OF GEORGIA 63

With this report must be filed a map showing the locations of
the proposed improvements and the lands that will be affected.

If the findings of the Board of Viewers are not favorable to the
formation of the district, and if the Court shall approve such findings,
the petition must be dismissed. However, if their findings are favor-
able and the Court shall agree, then a day for further hearing on the
findings of the Board of Viewers is set. Notice of this hearing must
be given by publication for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper
of general circulation, and by posting a notice at the courthouse and
at five conspicuous places in the district. At least fifteen days must
intervene between the date of publication and posting of notice, and
the date set for the hearing. To landowners not residing in the
district, written notice must be sent at least thirty days before the
hearing. )

At the hearing the Court passes upon any objections that may
be offered to the report of the Board of Viewers. If any lands have
been included which in the opinion of the Court will not receive bene-
fit from the proposed improvements, they are excluded; and if any
lands which will be benefited are not included the boundaries of the
district are extended so as to includethem. At the close of the hearing
if the Court decides that a drainage district will be to the interest
of all affected, it declares a district established and gives it a name
or number. Any person who feels that his lands should not be in-
cluded in the district may appeal to the Superior Court of the county.

After the district is declared established the report of the Board .
of Viewers is referred back to them with instructions to make a
complete survey and plans for the necessary improvements, and
report to the Court. For making the survey the Board of Viewers
are authorized to employ such assistants as may be necessary.

If lands needed for carrying out the plans cannot be secured by
purchase or gift, the district has the power to condemn such lands in
a manner as is provided in Chapter 9 of the 1910 Code.

It is the duty of the Board of Viewers to determine and assess
all damages which may be claimed, and unless such claims are made,
no damages will be paid. This board also examines all land in the
district and classifies it according to benefit it will receive by the
construction of the improvement, consideration being given to the
degree of wetness of the Inad, its proximity to the ditch or natural
outlet, and fertility of the soil. The lands receiving the greatest
amount of benefit are rated ‘‘Class A’’, the next highest ‘Class B,”’
the next highest ‘“‘Class C,’’ and that receiving the least benefit
“Class E.”’ The scale of assessment upon the several classes of land
64 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

is in the ratio of five, four, three, two and one; that is, as
often as five mills per acre are assessed against the land in
“Class A,’’ four mills per acre are. assessed against ‘Class
B,” three mills against ‘Class C,’ two mills against ‘Class D,”’
and one mill against “Class E.’”’ Upon the completion of the
survey and plans and the assessing of benefits and damages, the
Board of Viewers files its complete report with the Court which either
accepts the report and sets a day for a hearing not less than twenty
days thereafter, or refers the report back to the Viewers with in-
structions to secure additional information. Notice of this hearing
need be given by publications only as heretofore indicated. Notice
must be served upon any railroad companies which may be affected.
At this hearing any landowner may file objections in writing to the
report of the Viewers, and the Court will make such changes as it
feels are warranted. Ifthe Court shall find that the cost of construct-
ing the improvements, including damages, exceeds the benefits
which will accrue, it dismisses the proceedings at the cost of the
petitioners; but if it finds that the cost of construction and damages
will not exceed the benefits, it approves the Viewers’ report, and
appoints “Board of Drainage Commissioners” composed of three
persons who are elected by the landowners within the district. The
“Board of Drainage Commissioners” is charged with the administra-
tion of the district and becomes a body corporate possessed with
powers such as usually are exercised by a corporation. From the
. findings of the Court, any landowner may appeal’ within ten days.
The right of appeal also extends to railroad companies.

In order that there may be a complete record, the Clerk of the
Superior Court is required to keep a ‘‘Drainage Record” SR aNIne
each step in the proceedings.

Upon their organization the Commissioners appoint a competent

person as superintendent of construction, who must furnish a ten
thousand dollar bond to the Commissioners.

The law provides that the construction of the improvements be
by contract, the Commissioners being required to give notice by
publication for two consecutive weeks in some newspaper published
in the county wherein the improvements are to be constructed and
in such other publications as they may deem advisable, of the amount
of work to be done and the time and place of letting the work. The
work is awarded to the lowest bidder who must enter into a contract
with the Commissioners and give a bond equal to 25 per cent of the
estimated cost of the work awarded him. The superintendent of
construction is required to make monthly estimates of the work per-
formed by the contractor and to check it against the specifications.
DRAINAGE LAWS OF GEORGIA 65

If he approve the work the Commissioners direct that an order for
90 per cent of the completed work be drawn in favor of the con-
tractor. Before the work is accepted as complete, it is the duty of
the Superintendent to check it carefully to see that it complies with
the specifications. If a contractor fail to complete his contract,
action may be had against him and his bond to recover such damages
as may have been sustained.

When any drains cross public highways, the cost of building all
new bridges across such drains must be paid by the county. Any
benefits conferred upon such highways are assessed against it. To
such assessments the Board of Commissioners of Road and Revenues,
or, if there be no such Board, the Ordinary of the county in which the
road is located, may file objections the same as landowners. When-
ever the drainage improvements will cross the right of way of any
railroad company, notice must be sent to the company or its agents
informing them of a date when officials of the district will meet them
at the place where the ditch or drain may cross the right-of-way, for
the purpose of agreeing on the place and manner in which such im-
provements shall cross. In case no agreement can be reached, then
the district’s officials determine the place and manner of crossing
and the damages if any, which the railroad company may suffer.
The cost of building new bridges or of enlarging and strengthening
existing bridges and culverts are not to be considered as damages to
the railroad companies. Benefits which may accrue to the railroad,
by affording better drainage or better outlets, are assessed against
the company at a fixed sum. When construction is undertaken the
railroad company must be notified of the time the contractor will be
ready to construct ditches across the rights-of-way, at which time
it must remove its ties, rails and other obstructions, so that the
excavation may proceed. Failure on the part of the railroad to re-
move such obstructions subjects it to a penalty of $25 for each day
of delay. For expenses incurred in such removal the railroad com-
pany is entitled to compensation by the district, though it must pay
for the cost of excavation.

When the drainage system is completed, it becomes the duty of
the Board of Drainage Commissioners to keep it in repair. For this
purpose they are authorized to levy additional assessments in the
same manner and proportion as the original assessments. However,
if any repairs become necessary due to negligence on the part of
owners through whose lands the improvements extend, such owners
are held liable for the cost of making the required repairs. Any
person damaging or obstructing any improvement becomes liable to

a fine.
66 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Any person assessed for the cost of construction has the right
to use the ditch or drain as an outlet for lateral drains from his
land. If his lands are separated from the outlet ditch by the lands
of another, he has the right to cross the lands of such other party
for the purpose of reaching the outlet ditch.

After the lands are classified according to benefits, as previously
provided, and the classification approved by the Court, the Drainage
Commissioners prepare an assessment roll, giving a description of
all the lands, the names of the owners, and the assessment made
against each tract. The total of these assessments represents all
costs, including damages awarded, less assessments made against
railroads.

If the total cost shall average less than twenty-five cents per
acre on all land in the district, the assessment made against each
tract is payable in one instalment; but if the assessment exceeds
twenty-five cents per acre, the Drainage Commissioners may give
notice by publication for three weeks, as heretofore provided, that
they intend to issue bonds. Such notice must indicate the amount
of bonds the rate of interest the bonds will bear, and when the same
are payable. The interests on bonds will be additional to all other
costs and must be borne by the landowners. Those not wishing to
pay this interest can escape by paying their assessments in full to
the County Treasurer within thirty days after the notice has been
published. After the thirty days have expired the Commissioners
may sell bonds, for not less than par, to the amount of the unpaid
assessments, together with interest thereon, cost of collection and
other incidental expenses. These bonds, which bear six per cent
interest. payable annually, are paid in ten equal installments, the
installment falling due three years after date of issue and one in-
stallment during each of the next nine years. In districts where the
total bond issue does not exceed fifty thousand dollars, the Drainage
Commissioners may fix the rate of interest at not to exceed eight
per cent per annum. After bonds are issued the unpaid assessments
become a lien or tax, second only to State and county taxes, upon the
lands against which they are assessed. These taxes are collected by
the same officers as collect State and county taxes. If they are not
paid when due, and if such default continue for six months, the
holders of the bonds may bring a suit to enforce their pollection:
If the officers of the district fail to enforce collection, the bond holders
may bring suit against them or their official bond.

In case an assessment approved by the Court is reduced by the
Superior Court, the Commissioners have authority to change or
modify the original_assessments so as to comply with the Court’s
DRAINAGE LAWS OF GEORGIA 67

order. To provide for any deficit which may result, the Commission-
ers can make another assessment but such relevy must be made on
the basis of the original assessment.

The rates of compensation and the fees allowed for services
rendered the district are fixed by the law, except in cases of engineer
and attorney, where they are fixed by the Commissioners.

Provision is made for co-operation with any departments of the
United States Government.

Any person appointed under the law may be removed upon peti-
tion to the Court showing corruption, negligence of duties, or other
good and satisfactory causes.

APPENDIX
AMENDMENTS TO THE STATE DRAINAGE LAW*

The following amendments have been made to the State Drainage
Law since its passage by the Legislature in 1911:

AN ACT

To amend an Act providing for a system of drainage and re-
claiming the wet, swamp and overflowed lands of the State, approved
August 19, 1911, by authorizing a higher rate of interest on bonds
in certain cases; authorizing and requiring the validation of bonds,
issued under said Act in all cases requiring the cost of building new
bridges thereunder to be paid for by the county, and for other
purposes.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State
of Georgia, and it is hereby enacted by authority of the same, That
an Act providing a system for draining and reclaiming the wet,
swamp and overflow lands of the State, approved August 19, 1911,
be so amended that where bonds heretofore and hereafter issued
thereunder do not in any case exceed the sum of twenty thousand
dollars, that the rate of interest thereof may be fixed by the Board
of Drainage. Commission at not more than eight per cent per annum.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That said Act be also amended so
that whenever bonds heretofore and hereafter issued thereunder in
any case, that the same shall be validated as other bonds are now
required to be validated under the provisions of existing laws of this
State.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That said Act be also furthet
amended so that the cost of building all new bridges thereunder
shall be borne and paid for by the county.

*The State Drainage Law passed by the Legislature in 1911, will be found as the
Appendix to Bull. No. 25, Drainage Investigations in Georgia, issued by the State Geo-

logical Survey.
68 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of laws in
conflict with this Act be, and the same are hereby repealed.
Approved, August 16, 1913.

AN ACT

To amend an Act approved August 19, 1911, providing for a
system of reclaiming the wet, swamp and overflowed. lands by pro-
viding that the Tax Collector nor County Treasurer, or the equiva-
lent officer shall receive no commission out of said drainage fund, for
performing the duties imposed upon them in said Act, and to amend
Section 1, of the amendment to said Act, approved August 16, 1913,
authorizing a higher rate of interest on bonds in certain cases;
authorizing and requiring the validation of bonds, issued under said
Act in all cases requiring the cost of building new bridges thereunder
t6 be paid for by the county by striking the words ‘“T wenty-thousand’’
and inserting in lieu thereof the words ‘‘Fifty Thousand” wherever
found in said Section 1, and for other purposes.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State
of Georgia, and it is hereby enacted by authority of the same, that
the Act of 1911 providing a system for the reclaiming of the wet,
swamp and overflowed lands of the State, be so amended as to add
a new section to the drainage Act as passed in 1911, by adding the
following Section 41. That the Tax Collector nor the County
Treasurer or the equivalent officer shall receive no commission for
handling the Drainage Fund nor for performing any duty imposed
upon him in said drainage Act approved August 19, 1911.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that
Section 1 of the amendment thereto, approved August 16, 1913, be,
and the same hereby is amended by striking therefrom the words
“Twenty Thousand” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “Fifty
Thousand” wherever found in said Section 1, so that said section,
when so amended will read as follows: Section 1. Be it enacted by
the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, and it is hereby en-
acted by the authority of the same: That an Act providing the re-
claiming the wet, swamp and overflowed lands of the State approved
August 19, 1911, be so amended that where bonds heretofore or
hereafter issued thereunder do not, in any case exceed the sum of
Fifty Thousand Dollars, that the rate of interest thereof may be
fixed by the Board of Drainage Commission at not more than eight
per cent per annum.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted by authority aforesaid, That all
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Approved AUpuBE 21, 1917.
DRAINAGE LAWS OF IOWA 69

DRAINAGE LAWS OF IOWA

The constitution of the State of Iowa provides for Drainage
Laws, Article 1, Sec. 18, The general assembly, however, may pass
laws permitting the owners of lands to construct drains, ditches, and
levees for agricultural, sanitary or mining purposes across the lands
of others, and provide for the organization of drainage districts,
vest the proper authorities with power to construct and maintain
levees, drains and ditches and to keep in repair all drains, ditches
and levees, heretofore constructed under the laws of the State, by
special assessments, upon the property benéfited thereby. The gener-
al assembly may provide by law for the condemnation of such real
estate as shall be necessary for the construction and maintenance of
such drains, ditches and levees, and prescribe the method of making
such condemnation.

Iowa has several drainage acts, but the one under which the
greater part of the work is done is the “Act providing for the estab-
lishment of drainage districts,’ Sections 1989-Al to 1989-A79, in-
clusive.

Synopsis of Sections 1989-A1 to 1989-A79 inclusive.

Sec. 1989-Al: ‘The Board of Supervisors of any county shall
have jurisdiction, power and authority at any régular, special or
adjourned session to establish a drainage district or districts, and
to locate and establish levees, and cause to be constructed as herein-
after provided any levee, ditch, drain, or water course, or to straighten
widen, deepen or change any natural water course in such county
whenever the same will be a public utility or conducive to the public
health, convenience, or welfare and the drainage of surface waters
from agricultural lands shall be considered a public benefit and con-
ducive to the public health, convenience, utility and welfare.”’

Sec. 1989-A2. When a petition signed by one or more land
owners whose lands will be affected by, or assessed for the expenses
of, the proposed improvements, shall be filed in the office of the
County auditor, setting forth that any body or district of land in
the county, described by metes and bounds, or otherwise, so as to
convey an intelligible description of such lands, is subject to over-
flow and too wet for cultivation and that the public benefit or utility,
or the public health, convenience or welfare will be promoted by
draining, ditching, tiling, or leveeing the same, or by changing the
route of a natural water course; and setting forth the starting point,
70 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

route and terminus, and lateral branches, if necessary, of the pro-
posed improvement and accompanied by a bond in the amount and
with sureties approved by the County Auditor, to pay all expenses
in the proceedings, if it is not approved by the Board of Supervisors. :
The board at its first regular session thereafter appoints a competent
engineer, who is required to give bond for the satisfactory perform-
ance of his duties. The engineer is given a copy of the petition, and
proceeds to examine the lands and to lay out and locate such im-
provements as may be practicable and feasible, to carry out the
purposes of the petition, and which will be a public benefit or utility,
or conducive to the public health, convenience and welfare. A report
is submitted to the Courtty auditor in which report is described in |
detail the location and dimension of the improvements, together
with a plat and profile showing the improvements; the boundaries
of the district, and such other information as he may deem pertinent.
A description of each tract of land and the names of the owners as
shown by the transfer books in the Auditor’s Office, and the probable
cost shall be included in the report.

The board has the right to change engineers at any time. The
law requires that where practicable drains shall follow natural water
courses. Whenever a ditch or drain crosses a railroad right-of-way
it shall, wherever possible, be located at the natural waterway unless
the railroad has provided another place for the water to pass; and if
located at the place provided, the railroad Company is estopped from
afterwards objecting to the location on the ground that it is not a
natural waterway.

Src. 1989-A3. Upori the filing of the report of the engineer if
the same recommends the establishment of the district, the Board
examines the report and if the plans meet their approval they direct
the auditor to give notice as later provided. If they do not approve
the report they may direct the engineer, or another selected by them,
to report another plan. The plan may be amended at any time prior
to the establishment of the district. When the plan has finally been
adopted by the board, they order the auditor to cause notice to be
given to the owners of each tract or land, or lot within the proposed
district, as shown by the transfer books in the auditor’s office, includ-
ing the railroad companies having right-of-way in the district, and
to each lien holder or encumbrancer of any land through which, or
abutting upon which, the proposed improvement extends as shown
by the County records; and also to all other persons whom it may
concern including the actual occupants of land in the proposed dis-
trict without naming individuals, of the pendency of the petition,
of the favorable report of the engineer, and that such report may be
DRAINAGE LAWS OF IOWA 71

amended before final action, the day set for hearing, and that all
claims for damages must be filed with the Auditor’s office at least
five days before the date set for the hearing, which notice, except
as later provided, shall be served by publication thereof once each
week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation
in the County. The last publication to be at least twenty days
prior to the date of hearing. Proof of publication must be made by
the publisher. Anyone who has filed his address with the County
Auditor requesting that a copy of the notice be sent to him, shall be
entitled to receive a copy of the notice by registered mail. This
notice must be sent at least twenty days prior to the date of the
hearing. If, at the date of hearing, it appears that any person en-
titled to receive notice has not been or has been improperly served,
the board may set another date for the hearing, and notice of such
hearing shall be given the omitted party.

Sec. 1989-A4. Any person who does not file his éintna for damages
in the office of the County Auditor at least five days prior to the
date of hearing on the petition shall be held to have waived his
rights thereto; provided, that it shall not be necessary to file claims
covering value of lands appropriated for right-of-way for construc-
tion of proposed improvements.

Src. 1989-A5. The Board of Supervisors at the session set for
hearing said petition shall proceed to hear and determine the suf-
ficiency of the petition in form and substance, which petition may
be amended as to form and substance at any time before final action
thereon. If deemed necessary, the board may view the premises,
and if they find that the proposed district will not be for the public
benefit or utility, or conducive to the public health, welfare and
convenience, they shall dismiss the proceedings; but, if they find that
the improvements are conducive to the public health, convenience
and welfare and to the public benefit or utility, and no claims shall
have been filed for damages, they may, if they deem it advisable,
locate and establish the same in accordance with the recommenda-
tions of the engineer, or, they may refuse to establish as they deem
advisable. And at this hearing, if deemed advisable, they may
order the engineer to make further examination and report to said
board; and if they determine that further examination and report
shall be made or if claims for damages have been filed, the board of
supervisors proceed no further than to determine the necessity of the
district. Further proceedings are continued to a later time, the date
of which shall be fixed at the time of adjournment and the county
auditor appoints three appraisers to assess damages, one of whom
shall be the engineer. ’
72 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Src. 1989-A6. Assessment of Damages. The appraisers appointed
to assess damages, view the premises and determine and fix the
amount of damages to which each claimant is entitled, and place a
valuation upon all acreage taken for right-of-way, as shown by plat
of the engineer, and at least five days before the date fixed by the
board to hear and determine the same, file with the county auditor
a report in writing showing the amount of damages sustained by
each claimant. The board considers the amount of damages awarded
in their final determination in regard to establishing such levee or
drainage district, in their opinion, the cost of construction and the
amount of damages awarded is not excessive and a greater burden
than should be properly borne by the land benefited by the improve-
ments, they locate and establish the same, and appoint an engineer
as a commissioner, who shall make a permanent survey of the dis-
trict, and shall file a report of the same with the County auditor,
together with a plat and profile thereof. The board then determines
the amount of damages sustained by each claimant, and may hear
evidence in respect thereto and may increase or diminish the amount
awarded; and any party aggrieved may appeal from the findings of
the board in establishing or refusing to establish the district; or from
its findings in the allowance of damages, to the District Court by
filing notice of such appeal with the County Auditor at any time
within 20 days after such finding, and at the same time filing a bond
conditioned to pay all the costs and expenses of the appeal, unless
the finding of the District Court shall be more favorable to the ap-
pellant or appellants than the finding of the Board.

Src. 1989-A7. The amount of damages finally determined by
the Board in favor of any claimant or claimants must be paid by
the parties benefited, or secured to be paid by sufficient bond to be
fixed and approved by the County Auditor; and after such damages
shall have been paid or secured, the board shall divide the improve-
ments into suitable sections, and appoint a competent engineer to
have charge of the work of construction thereof, who shall be re-
quired to give bond

Src. 1989-A8. The Board shall give notice by publication once
each week for two consecutive weeks in some newspaper published
in the county where such improvement is located, and such addi-
tional publication elsewhere as they may direct, of the time and place
of letting the work of construction; they shall award the contract or
contracts for each section of the work to the lowest responsible bid-
der, and they may exercise their own discretion as to letting such
work as a whole or in sections. The right is reserved to reject any
or all bids and to re-advertise the work. Each person bidding for
DRAINAGE LAWS OF IOWA 73

such work is required to deposit a sum equal to ten per cent of the
amount of the bid as a guarantee of his good faith in entering on
said contract, if awarded to him. The successful bidder is required
to execute a bond with sufficient sureties in favor of the county, for
the use and benefit of the district, in an amount equal to twenty-five
per centum of the estimated cost of the work.

Sec. 1989-A9. The engineer in charge of the construction fur-
nishes the contractor monthly estimates of the work done on each
section, which are filed with the auditor who draws a warrant in
favor of the contractor, or delivers him improvement certificates,
‘as the case may be, for eighty per cent of the value of the work done,
according to the estimate; and when the improvement is completed
to the satisfaction of the engineer and the board of supervisors, the
auditor draws a warrant in favor of contractor for the balance due.

Sec. 1989-AlI0. Makes provision for completing any portion of
the work when the contractor has failed to do so.

Sec. 1989-All. Provides for changing the dimensions of any of
the improvements after the district is established.

Src. 1989-A12. When the improvements provided for have been
located and established, or when it is necessary to cause the same
to be repaired, enlarged, reopened, or cleared from any obstructions
therein, the board appoints three commissioners—one of whom shall
be a competent civil engineer and two of whom shall be resident free-
holders of the State not living in the district and not interested there-
in, or in a like question, nor related to any party whose land is af-
fected thereby, and they shall, within twenty days after appoint-
ment, begin to personally inspect and classify the lands benefited
by the location and construction of the improvements or the repair-
ing of the same, in tracts of forty acres or lots according to legal or
recognized subdivisions in a graduated scale of benefits to be num-
bered according to the benefit: to be received from the proposed
improvement, and they shall make an equitable apportionment of
“the cost, expenses, cost of construction, fees, and damages assessed
for the construction of such improvement, or the repairing, or reopen-
ing thereof, and-‘make a report in writing to the board of supervisors.
In making the estimate, the lands receiving the greatest benefits
shall be marked on a scale of 100 and those benefited in a less degree
shall be marked with such percentage of 100 as the benefit received
bears in proportion thereto. This classification, when fully estab-
lished, shall remain as a basis for all future estimates unless the board
later orders a re-classification. The auditor shall cause notice to be
served upon each person whose name appears as owner, and also
74 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

upon the person or persons in actual occupancy of any such land in
the timé and manner provided for the establishment of a levee or
drainage district, which notice shall state the amount of special
assessments to such owner upon each tract or lot; the date set for
hearing the same before the board of supervisors, and that all ob-
jections must be made in writing and filed with the county auditor
on or before noon of the day set for said hearing. On the date set
the board of supervisors hear and determine all objections made and
filed to said report, and may increase, diminish, annul or affirm the
apportionment made in said report or any part thereof as they may
deem just and equitable. When such hearing shall have been had the
board shall levy such apportionment so fixed by it, upon the lands
within the district, and all installments of the tax shall be levied
at that time and shall bear interest at 6 per cent per annum from
that date; provided, that any land owner against which any such
levy shall have been made shall within twenty days from the date
of such assessment promise and agree in writing, filed in the office
of the county auditor, that in consideration of his having the right to
pay his assessments in installments, he will not make any objection
as to the legality or regularity, of the assessments of benefits or levy
of such taxes upon or against his property, but will pay such assess-
ments as follows: One-third of the amount of said assessment at the
time of filing the above agreement; one-third of the amount within
ten days after the engineer in charge of said district shall certify that
the improvement is half completed, and the remaining one-third
within ten days after the board of supervisors shall have accepted
the work.

If the first assessment made by the board of supervisors is in-
sufficient the board may make an additional assessment and levy.

Src. 1989-A13. In estimating the benefits to the lands not
traversed by said improvements the benefit that such lands will re-
ceive after some other improvements shall have been constructed
shall not be considered, but only the benefits which will be received
by reason of the construction of the improvement in question. The
drainage tax is levied upon land owners and collected in the same
manner as other general taxes. The funds so collected are required
to be kept separate.

Sec. 1989-A14. Any land owner aggrieved by the order of the
Board fixing the assessment of benefits may appeal to the Circuit
Court within twenty days after the completed service of notice of
such apportionment. The appeal shall be tried in equity, and the
appearance term shall be the trial term.
DRAINAGE LAWS OF IOWA 75

Src. 1989-A15. Penalties are provided for anyone obstructing
the drain.
Suc. 1989-A16. Former surveys may. be used, or as much thereof
as may be applicable
Sec. 1989-A17. When a district has been established and the
improvements constructed and taxes levied against the land, and
when for any reason levy for taxes cannot be enforced the board
shall proceed as to all lands benefited by said improvement in the
same manner as if the appraisement and apportionment of benefits
had never been made, using as a basis the entire cost of said improve-
ment. In taxing up said benefits account shall be taken of the amount
of tax, if any, that has been paid by those benefited and credit there-
fore given.
Sec. 1989-A18. When a ditch is to be constructed across a rail-
‘road right-of-way the auditor causes notice to be served on the rail-
road company stating the nature of the improvement to be con-
structed, the place where it will cross the right-of-way of such com-
pany, and the full requirements for its complete construction across
such right-of-way, as shown by the report of the engineer, and directs
such company to construct the improvement at the place designated,
and to build or construct the necessary culvert or bridge where any
ditch, drain or water course crosses its right-of-way, so as not to
obstruct or interfere with the free flow of the water. Within thirty
days from the time of the service of such notice the railroad company
is required to construct the improvement, and if it fails to do so,
the auditor shall cause the same to be done under the supervision of
the engineer in charge of the improvement, and such railroad com-
pany shall be liable for the cost thereof. The cost of-constructing
the improvement across the right-of-way of such company, not in-
cluding the cost of building and constructing or rebuilding or re-
constructing any necessary culvert or bridge where such improve-
ment is located at the place of the natural waterway, or other place
provided by the railroad company for the flow of water shall be con-
sidered as an element of such company’s damages by the appraisers
thereof, and the cost of building and constructing, or rebuilding or
reconstructing any necessary culvert or bridge when such improve-
ment is located at the place of the natural water-way, or place pro-
vided by the railroad company for the flow of the water shall be
borne by such railroad company without reimbursement therefor.
Sec. 1989-A19. Whenever a ditch, drain, levee, or change of
any natural water course crosses a public highway and makes neces-
sary the removal of, building or rebuilding of any bridge or bridges,
76 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

the board of supervisors shall remove, build or rebuild. such bridge
or bridges, paying the cost and expenses thereof from the county
bridge fund.

When highways within the district are beneficially affected by
the construction of the improvement, it is the duty of the commission-
ers appointed to classify and assess the benefits, and determine and
return the amount of benefit to such highway.

Sec. 1989-A20. The board of supervisors are given power to
lay out and establish ditches or drains along the public highways.

Src. 1989-A21. When any drainage district has been established
and the improvements constructed, they are at all times under the
control and supervision of the board of supervisors, and it is their
duty to keep them in repair. The cost of such repairs or necessary
changes shall be paid from the drainage fund of said district, or by
assessing or levying the cost of such repair or change on the lands
in the district.

Src. 1989-A22. The owner of any land which has been assessed
for the construction of improvements in the district shall have the
right to use the drain as an outlet for lateral drains from his lands.
The board of supervisors make specifications as to the manner in
which connection shall be made and these specifications must be
followed.

Src. 1989-A23. If any person who owns land in the district has
been assessed for benefits and is separated from drains by the land
of another or others, and is unable to agree with them on the terms
and conditions on which he may enter on their lands and construct
a drain or ditch necessary to drain his lands, he may file a petition
with the county auditor asking the Board to establish a sub-district
within the limits of the original district for the purpose of securing
more complete drainage. The petition shall describe the lands to be’
benefited by metes and bounds, or otherwise, and the bond and all
other procedure shall be the same as hereinbefore provided for the
establishment of a district. When the improvements are constructed
they shall become a part of the drainage system of the district.

Sec. 1989-A24. When two districts have their outlet in the same
water course or stream and it shall become necessary to deepen or
enlarge it, each district shall be assessed for the cost of such work in
the same ratio to such total cost as the discharge of waters of the
several districts emptying into the stream, but no district shall be
liable to contribute for any improvement or cost and expenses in-
curred in improving said stream above the point of discharge of
the waters of said district into the same.
DRAINAGE LAWS OF IOWA 77

Src. 1989A-25. If a district proves insufficient to protect or
drain all the lands therein, upon proper petition the board of super-
visors shall have authority to include it in a new district. When a
new district is established, the commissioners that classify the bene-
fits shall take into account the value of the old improvements.

Src. 1989-A26. Special assessments for benefits made by the
commissioners appointed for that purpose as corrected and approved
by the board of supervisors shall be levied at one time by the board
against the property so benefited, and when levied and certified
shall be payable at the office of the County Treasurer. Any land
owner has the right to waive objections of illegality or irregularity as
to the assessment of benefits or levy of such tax upon or against his
property within thirty days from the date of such assessment; in
consideration of having waived this he is allowed to pay his taxes in
ten annual installments, with interest at six per cent the first of
which shall mature and be payable on the date of such assessment,
and the others, with interest, on the whole amount unpaid, annually
thereafter, at the same time and in the same manner as the March
semi-annual payment of ordinary taxes. All of such taxes with in-
terest become delinquent on the first of March next after its maturity.
If no such waiver is filed by the owner of the land, then the whole of
the special assessment so levied against the property matures and is
due and payable with interest from the date of such assessment, and
shall be collected at the next succeeding March semi-annual pay-
ment of ordinary taxes. The board may provide for the issuance of
Improvement Certificates payable to bearer or to the contractor,
each of which certificates shall state the amount of one or more
assessments, the part thereof made against the property designating
it and the owners thereof liable to assessment for the cost of the same.
Such certificates may be sold and are a lien against the assessment;
they bear interest at not to exceed six per cent per annum, payable
annually. Any property owner is given the right to pay the tax
levied against his property, with interest thereon to date, at any
time that he desires to do so. Certificates cannot be sold for less than
par value.

Src. 1989-A27. If the board of supervisors determines that the
cost of the district is greater than should be paid in one year, instead
of issuing improvement certificates it may fix the amount that shall
be levied and collected each year, and may issue drainage bonds of
the County bearing not more than six per cent interest and payable
semi-annually in the proportions and at the same time when such
taxes have been collected, and may devote the same at par with
accrued interest to the payment of the work as it progresses; or may
78 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

sell the same at not less than par with accrued interest, and devote
the proceeds to the construction of the district. Any property owner
may pay the full amount of the benefit assessed against his property

_before the bonds are issued. The terms and times of the bonds
issued shall be fixed by the county supervisors and shall net be for
more than fifteen years.

Sec.1989-A28. Owners of land which require combined drainage
may mutually agree to the establishment of a drainage district and
may file with the county auditor such an agreement. Uponthe filing
of such agreement the supervisors at their next session thereafter
establish the drainage district and thereafter have full and com-
plete power over it.

Sec. 1989-A29. When the district extends into two or more
counties and embraces land in two or more counties, the petition of
one or more land owners affected must be filed with the county”
auditor of each of said counties at the same time and bond must be
provided. Upon the presentation of such petition and the approval
of the bond, the supervisors of each county appoint a commissioner
and the commissioners meet within thirty days and appoint a com-
petent engineer. Such commissioners and the engineer together
make a survey of the lands embraced in the district, determine what
improvements are necessary and file a copy of the report in the office
of the auditor of each county. If the report recommends the estab-
lishment of the district the auditor causes the owners of the land as
shown by the transfer books to be notified. Such notice is served in
the same manner as when the drain is located in one county. The
board of each county has equal power.

Sec. 1989-A30. Any person claiming damages files his claim in
writing in the office of the county auditor of the county in which his
land is located, at least five days prior to the time of hearing. Failure
to file such claim at the time specified, waives the right thereto.

Sec. 1989-A31. At the time set for the hearing on the petition
the boards of the several counties meet and sit jointly in consider-
ing the petition, and proceed in the same manner as provided for
drains located in one county, except that if it becomes necessary to
appoint appraisers, the Boards of Supervisors appoint one appraiser
from each county; and if the district extends into or through only
two counties the two appraisers choose a third. The appraisers
have the same qualifications as those for drains wholly in one county
and they proceed in the same manner except that a copy of their
return must be filed in the auditor’s office in each county.

Sec. 1989-A32. If the joint boards establish the district, they
appoint a commission, one of whom shall be selected from each
DRAINAGE LAWS OF IOWA 79

county; and in addition thereto a competent engineer to classify the
land and make an equitable apportionment of the costs of the im-
provement. Upon the filing of their report, the several county aud-
itors, acting jointly, cause notice to be served of the time and place
where the boards of supervisors will consider such report. The
proceedings shall be the same as when the district is in one county,
except after the amount to be assessed against the several tracts has
been finally determined, the several boards acting separately and
within their own counties, shall proceed to levy and collect the taxes
in the same manner as when the district is in one county.

Src. 1989-A33 to 35, inclusive, provide that the boards of super-
visors acting jointly, shall let contracts, appoint a supervising en-
gineer, and hear appeals in the same manner as provided when the
district is wholly in one county.

Src. 1989-A36. Whenever the establishment of a district is
petitioned for in two or more counties, and one of the boards of super-
visors neglects, fails, or refuses to take action the procedure is trans-
ferred to the district court.

Sec. 1989-A387. The board of supervisors are granted the same
authority as provided where the improvement is wholly in one
county, and provides that the proceedings shall be the same so far
as applicable and not otherwise provided.

Sxc. 1989-A38. Authority is given to the board of supervisors
to establish a levee or drainage district that includes the whole or
any part of any incorporated town or city, and gives the same
powers to assess damages and benefits as they have in other cases.

Src. 1989-A39. When a drainage district cannot obtain suitable
outlet within a State, the board of supervisors is given authority
and power to purchase a right-of-way for such outlet in an adjoining
State, and pay for the same out of the funds of the district.

Src. 1989-A40. The right to employ watchmen for levees, and
authority to make repairs thereon in times of emergency is given to
the board of supervisors.

Sec. 1989-A41. The engineer employed under the provisions of
this Act shall receive compensation as fixed by the board of super-
visors. Appraisers and commissioners, other than the engineer,
shall receive not to exceed $4.00 per day eaeh. All other fees and
costs required under the provisions of this Act shall be the same as
provided by law for like services in other cases. The amount of
fees for publication of notices shall be fixed by the board of super-
visors.

Src. 1989-A42. The county auditor is the custodian of all papers
and records pertaining to the levee or drainage matters in his county,
and shall keep a book known as the Drainage Record.
80 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Src. 1989-A43. Relates to the drainage of highways.

Src. 1989-A44. The board of supervisors of any county in which
a drainage, district has been established shall cause a competent
engineer to inspect such improvement whenever that may deem it
necessary, and at least once each year, and he shall make a report to
the board of the condition of the improvement, together with such
recommendations as he may deem necessary.

Src. 1989-A45. The tax provided for in this Act, when levied
shall be a lien upon all premises upon which the same is assessed, to
the same extent and in the same manner as the levy for general
taxes.

Suc. 1989-A46. The provisions of this act shall be liberally con-
strued to promote the ditching, draining and reclamation of wet,
overflowed or agricultural lands. The collection of the assessments
shall not be defeated where the proper notices have been given, by
reason of any defects in the proceedings occurring prior to the hear-
ing of the board locating and establishing the district. Upon appeal
the Court shall, if it deems it just and proper, release any person, or
modify his assessment or liability; but this shall not affect the rights
or liability of any other person. The failure to appeal from the order
of the board of supervisors of which complaint is made shall be a
waiver of any illegality in the proceedings, and the remedies pro-
vided for in this act shall exclude all other remedies.

Src. 1989-A47. Relates to certain other acts.

Sec. 1989-A48. Authorizes the payment of all necessary pre-
liminary expenses in connection with the drainage district out of the
general county fund, or, if there shall be more than one county,
from the general county fund from each of the counties included in
the district in such proportion as the work done or the expensess
created in each county bears to the whole amount of work done or
expenses created; the amounts to be determined by the engineer in
charge of the work. The funds advanced shall be repaid to the
county or counties as soon as possible after the drainage district is
established; or, if not established, shall be paid from the proceeds
of the bond deposited with the county auditor.

Sec. 1989-A49 to A-52. provide for the establishment of pumping
stations, and the election of trustees to manage the same.

Src. 1989-A53. The owner of any land may drain the same in the
general course of natural drainage by constructing open or covered
drains, discharging same into any natural water course, or into any
natural depression whereby the water will be carried into some natural
water course. When such drainage is wholly upon the owner’s land
he shall not be liable in damages therefor to any person or persons
or corporation
DRAINAGE LAWS OF IOWA 81

Suc. 1989-A54. Provides a method of including additional lands
in the district after it has been established.

Src. 1989-A55. Provides for the acquisition of outlets in drain-
age districts outside of the county in which the drain is located.
The board is given the power to condemn property for this purpose.

Src. 1989-A56 to Sec. 1989-A60 relate to pending litigation,
claims of sub-contractors, adjudication of claims and release of
claims.

TRANSFER OF CARE OF CERTAIN DRAINAGE DISTRICTS TO LOCAL
BOARDS OF TRUSTEES

Sec. 1989-A61. In all drainage or levee districts heretofore estab-
lished, or which may be established, not containing pumping station,
and costing one hundred thousand dollars or more, and less than 25
per cent of which has been spent for tile construction, any three or
more persons who own land in the district which has been assessed
for benefits may, after the completion of the construction work, file
a petition signed by a majority of the persons owning land within the
district assessed for benefits, and who in the aggregate own a major-
ity of the number of acres assessed for benefits, asking that such dis-
trict be placed under the management and control of three trustees
who are owners of land assessed for benefits in the district, and resi-
dents of the county or counties in which the district is situated, to be
elected by the persons owning lands assessed for benefits in such dis-
trict. Such trustees shall be the agent of the property owners and
have the management of the business of the district, but not consid-
ered public officers.

Sec. 1989-A62. If the district is located in more than one county
petitions shall be presented to the boards of supervisors of the several
counties in which the district is located.

Src. 1989-A63 to A69. These sections make provisions for the
holding of election of trustees and for the tenure of office of trustees,
time of elections and the filling of vacancies.

Sec. 1989-A70. As soon as the trustees have qualified, they or-
ganize by electing one of their own members chairman and select
some other tax payer of the district as clerk of the board.

Sec. 1989-A71. The trustees qualify by giving bond in the sum
of Five Thousand Dollars for the faithful performance of their duty,
with sureties acceptable to the county auditor. On the election and
qualification of the trustees they have control and supervision of the
district in the same manner and with the same powers conferred
upon the board of supervisors. By the Drainage and Levy laws of
Iowa if a reclassification and readjustment of the asscssment of
82 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

property should have to be made, it shall be done under the Board
of Supervisors in the same manner as the original assessment. All
costs and expenses incurred by the trustees shall, on certificate of
the trustees to the board of supervisors, of the amount of the sum
necessary therefor, be levied and collected on the land in the districts
in the same manner as taxes are levied and collected on such land
for drainage purposes. ;

Src. 1989-A72. The trustees are required to report their pro-
ceeding to the county auditor and the same are published as a part
of the proceedings of the board of supervisors.

Sec. 1989-A73. In all elections held under this act the owner of
each tract of land, if he or she is over twenty-one years of age shall,
without regard to sex, and any railroad or corporation owning prop-
erty in such district and assessed for benefits shall be entitled to at
least one vote, and anyone whose land is assessed for benefits in a
sum exceeding Ten Dollars shall be entitled to one vote for each Ten
Dollars of the original assessment for benefits against the land
actually owned by him in such district at the time of the election
and which has been assessed for benefits in such district; but in order
to have his ballot counted for more than one vote he shall write his
name upon his ballot. The vote of any resident of a county in which
the district is located in whole or in part must be cast in person.
The vote of any owner of land, including railroads and corporations,
assessed within the district that is not a resident of the county in
which the district is located in whole or in part, may have his or its
vote cast by some resident tax payer of the district or agent of such
railroad or corporation who is authorized by a Power of Attorney
signed and acknowledged by such non-resident land owner, or duly
authorized officer of such railroad or corporation, to cast the vote
for him, but the power of attorney in such case shall be filed with the
County Auditor.

Secs. 1989-A74 to 1989-A79, provide for the compensation of the
trustees; for certified copies of assessments to determine voting power,
repeal Goniltetines acts and provide for interstate drainage, and for
the repair and improvement of any drainage works in the district.
MISSOURI DRAINAGE LAW 83

MISSOURI DRAINAGE LAW

ORGANIZATION OF DRAINAGE DISTRICTS BY CIRCUIT COURTS. SESSION
LAWS OF MISSOURI, 1913, PAGE, et Seq.

Section 1. Repeals Article I, of Chapter 41, and enacts a new
Article I.

Sec. 2. Formation oF Dratnace Districts: The owners of a
majority of acreage in any contiguous body of swamp, wet or over-
flowed land or lands subject to overflow, situate in one or more
counties in this State, may form a drainage district for the purpose
of having such lands and other property reclaimed and protected
from the effects of water, for sanitary or agricultural purposes, or
when the same may be conducive to the public health, convenience
or welfare, or of public utility or benefit, by drainage or otherwise,
and for that purpose they make and sign articles of association, in
which shall be stated: The name of the district, and the number of
years the same is to continue; the boundary lines of the proposed
drainage district, the names of the owners of lands or other property
in said district, together with a description of the lands and other
property owned by each when the name of the owner of any of said
lands or other property is unknown, this fact shall be set out in said
articles; said articles shall further state that the owners of real estate
and other property within said district whose names are subscribed
to said articles are willing to and do obligate themselves to pay the
tax or taxes which may be assessed against their respective lands or
other property to pay the expense of organizing and of making and
maintaining the improvements that may be necessary to effect the
reclamation of said lands and other property, so formed into a
drainage district, and to drain and to protect the same from the
effects of water, and said articles of association shall contain a prayer,
praying that the lands and other property described therein be de-
clared a drainage district under the provisions of this act. After said
articles of association and petition have been so signed the same shall
be filed in the office of the circuit clerk of the county in which such
lands and other property are situate; or, if such lands and other
property be composed of tracts or parcels situate in two or more
different counties then in the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court
of the county in which there are situate more of said lands and other
property than in any other county.

Src. 3. Circuit Clerk shall give notice by publication of application
to form drainage district—form of notice. Immediately after such articles
of association shall have been filed, the clerk. in whose office the
84 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

articles of association have been filed shall give notice by causing
publication to be made once a week for four consecutive weeks in
some newspaper published in each county in which are situate lands
and other property of the district, the last insertion to be made at
least fifteen days prior to the first day of the next regular term of the
circuit court at which said articles of association and petition are
to be heard; said notice shall be substantially in the following form
and it shall be deemed sufficient for all purposes of this act:

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO FORM DRAINAGE

DISTRICT’
Notice is hereby given to all persons interested in the following
described real estate and other property in........... :..County

of Missouri (here describe the property as set out in the articles of
association) that articles of association asking that the foregoing
lands and other property be formed into a drainage district under the
provisions of an act of the legislature, entitled ‘An act to repeal
Article 1 (entitled ‘Organization of drainage districts by Circuit
Courts”) of Chapter 41, (entitled ‘Drains and Levees’) of the Revised
Statutes of Missouri at 1909, and to repeal an act amending and
adding to said Article 1 enacted in 1911 and found on pages 205 to
222 of the laws of Missouri of 1911, and to enact a new act in lieu
thereof to be known as article 1 (pertaining to the organization of
drainage districts by circuit courts) of said Chapter 41, with an
emergency clause,” as enacted by the 47th Missouri general assembly
in 1913, and that the lands and other property as above described
will be affected by the formation of said drainage district and be
rendered liable to taxation for the purpose of paying the expenses of
organizing and making and maintaining the improvements that may
be found necessary to drain, protect and reclaim the lands and other
property in said district, and you and each of you are hereby notified
to appear at the next term of this court to be held onthe............
SORE ha cis Aiton a tence County, and show cause, if any, there be why
said drainage district as set forth in the articles of association’ shall
not be organized as a public corporatoin of the state of Missouri.

The circuit court of the county in which said articles of associa-
tion have been filed shall thereafter maintain and have original and
exclusive jurisdiction coextensive with the boundaries and limits of
said district without regard to county lines, for all purposes of this
MISSOURI DRAINAGE LAW 85

act: PROVIDED, that where lands in different counties are sought
to be incorporated in the same district, it shall not be necessary to
include all of the lands and other property in said proposed drainage
district in the notice published in the different counties, but only
such lands and other property in the district as are situate in the
respective counties.

Section 4. Any owner of real estate or other property who has
not signed the Articles of Association, who objects to the organiza-
tion’of the district, shall file his objections on or before the first day
of the term of Court, at which the objections are to be heard. The
objections are limited to a denial of the statements of the articles of
association, and are heard by the Court in a summary manner, and
without delay. In case the objections are overruled the Circuit
Court, by an order, shall decree the drainage district a public corpora-
tion of the State for a term not exceeding the time mentioned in the
Articles of Association. The Court may exclude property which, in
its judgment, should not be included. If the Court finds that the
district shall not be incorporated, it dismisses the proceedings and
charges the cost to the signers of the Articles of the Association in
proportion to the acreage represented by each. Any person who has
signed the Articles of Association cannot withdraw without the
written consent of the majority in acreage of the owners who signed
the petition. The Clerk is required to file a certified copy of the
findings and decree establishing the district. with the Secretary of
State and the County Recorder in each County having land in the
district. A plat of the district shall also be filed in each County.

Suction 5. Provides that within thirty (30) days after the dis-
trict shall have been incorporated the Circuit Court of the County in
which the Articles of Association were filed shall give notice by pub-
lication for two weeks in a newspaper that on a certain date a meet-
ing will be held for the purpose of electing a board of five supervisors,
to be composed of owners of real estate in said district at least two
of which shall be residents of the County or Counties in which the
district is situated. The land owners organize by electing a chair-
man and secretary of the meeting, who conduct the election. ‘At
such election, each and every acre of land in the district shall repre-
sent one share, and each owner shall be entitled to one vote in person
or by proxy, for every acre of land owned by him in such district,
and the five persons receiving the highest number of votes shall be
declared elected as supervisors; and said supervisors shall im-
mediately by lot determine the terms of office which shall be re-
spectively one, two, three, four and five years, and they shall serve
until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.”
86 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Section 6. In the same month of each year after the election of
the first board of supervisors the board shall call a meeting of the
owners of real and other property who shall meet at the time and
place fixed and elect one supervisor, who shall hold his office for
five years, or until his successor qualifies.

After the report of the commissioners has been confirmed by the
Court under the provisions of Section 16, only owners of land and
other property having benefits assessed against it shall be entitled
to vote.

Section 7. Provides for the supervisors taking oath to faith-
fully perform their duties.

Section 8. Provides for the organization of the Board of Super-
visors and the election of one of their board as President, and some
suitable person as secretary. The board receives no compensation
for their services unless the owners shall determine to pay a per diem,
which in no case shall exceed Five Dollars ($5.00). Their actual
necessary expenses are paid. The Secretary, if a member of the
Board shall be entitled to compensation as provided later.

Section 9. Within sixty days after organizing, the board ap-
points a competent civil engineer as chief engineer, who engages such
assistants as the board may approve. The chief engineer has control
of the engineering work and is charged with the making of plans for
the system of drainage. His report to the Board of Supervisors is
made in writing and shall contain a plan for drainage with accompany-
ing maps and profiles. The chief engineer may, with the consent of
the Board, employ and consult with eminent engineers.

Section 10. The supervisors receive the chief engineers report
and plan for reclaiming the district, and after consulting with the
engineer and having such modifications made as they think desirable
and as are approved by the chief engineer, they adopt the report
which thereafter is known as the Plan for Reclamation. The chief
engineer is required to submit an annual report to the supervisors.

Section 11. A uniform tax of not more than fifty cents (50c) per
acre may be levied on all land in, or that later may be, included in
the district to pay expenses incurred, or to be incurred in the organ-
ization of the district making surveys, assessing benefits and damages,
and other expenses.

Section 12. Within twenty days after the adoption of the plan
for reclamation a certified copy is filed with the circuit clerk of the
County Court of the County organizing said district, and at the same
time the board of supervisors petition the Court to appoint com-
missioners to appraise the lands within and without the district to
be acquired for the right-of-way, holding basins and other drainage .
MISSOURI DRAINAGE LAW 87

works of the district, and to assess benefits and damages accruing to
all lands in the district and other property by reason of the plan for
reclamation. Within thirty days after the filing of the petition,
the Court is required to appoint the commissioners who shall be
freeholders residing in the State of Missouri, not land owners of the
district, nor of kin within the fourth degree of consanguinity to any
person owning land in the district. A majority of the commissioners
control on all questions.

Section 13. The Circuit clerk notifies in writing each commis-
sioner of his appointment and of the date of their first meeting. At
the first meeting or within ten days thereafter, they take the oath to
faithfully and impartially discharge their duties and make a true
report. One of the commissioners is elected chairman. The Secre-
tary of the Board of Supervisors is ex-officio Secretary of the Board
of Commissioners. The secretary is required to furnish them a com-
plete list of-all corporate or other property described in the articles
of Association, or adjacent thereto, that will be affected by carrying
out the plan of reclamation, with the names of the owners, and a
copy of the plan for reclamation, with maps and profiles.

Section 14. Within thirty days after qualifying the commission-
ers shall begin their duties. They may call upon the Attorney of the
district for legal advice and opinions relative to their duties, and the
chief engineer or one of his assistants shall accompany the commis-
sioners at all times and render his opinion in writing when called for.
They view the premises and determine the value of all land and
other property within or without the district, and to be acquired,
and used for-right-of-way, holding basins and other works set out. in
the plan for reclamation. They assess the amount of benefits and
damages, if any, that will accrue to each Government Lot, Forty-
acre tract or other sub-division according to ownership; public high-
way, railroad, and other right-of-way, railroad road-way, and other
property from carrying out and putting into effect the plan of re-
clamation. In assessing the benefits they shall not consider what
benefits will be derived after their ditches or improvements shall
have been constructed, but only the benefits that will be derived
from the construction of the works and improvements set out in
the plan for reclamation; or as the same may afford an outlet for
drainage or provide protection from over-flow of such property.
Credit is given for improvements previously constructed and which
afford partial or complete protection to any land in the district.
The public highways, railroads and other right-of-way, road-ways,
railroads and other properties shall be assessed according to the in-
creased physical efficiency and decreased maintenance cost by reason
88 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

of the protection to be derived. A report of their findings is prepared
by the secretary under the advice, supervision and direction of the
attorney. The law requires that it be arranged in tabular form and
shall show: ‘Owners of Property Assessed,” ‘Description of Prop-
erty Assessed,” ‘“Number of Acres Assessed,” ‘‘Amount of Benefits
Assessed,’”’ “Number of Acres taken for Right-of-way,” “Value of
Property Taken,’ and ‘‘Damages.”

The commissioners, by -and with the advice of the engineer
estimate the cost of the work set out in the plan for reclamation.
The estimate shall include the cost of property required for right-of-
way, holding basins and other works, and damages and the probable
expenses of organization and administration as estimated by the
Board of Supervisors shall be tabulated. The report must be signed
by a majority of the commissioners and shall be filed in the office of
the Clerk of the Circuit Court organizing the district. The Com-
missioners report to the Board of Supervisors the number of days
which have been employed and the actual expense incurred. Each
commissioner is paid Five Dollars ($5.00) per day for his services
and necessary expenses. Commissioners have no power to change
the plan of reclamation. =

Section 15. Upon the filing of the report of the commissioners
the Clerk of the Circuit Court gives notice thereof by causing pub-
lication to be made once a week for three consecutive weeks in some
newspaper published in each County in the District. The form of
notice is prescribed, and it is not necessary to give the names of the
parties interested. The notice states that the commissioners have
filed their report and that it may be examined at the office of the
Clerk and exceptions filed to all or any part of the report, as provided
by law.

Section 16. The drainage district or any owner of land or prop-
erty may file exceptions to the report as to any assessment of bene-
fits or damages within ten days after the last day of publication of
the notice. Exceptions are heard by the Court and determined in a
summary manner. The court may amend or modify the report if
the Court is satisfied that the estimated cost of constructing the
improvements contemplated in the plan for reclamation is less than
the benefits assessed in the district, the report as amended and
modified is approved and confirmed. The court then apportions
the cost incurred by the exceptions filed, and condemns any land or
other property that the report shows is needed for right-of-way or
other purposes. A certified copy of the court Decree and the Com-
missioners Report as amended and modified by the Court are trans-
MISSOURI DRAINAGE LAW 89

mitted to the Secretary of the Board of Supervisors who transmits
a certified copy to the Recorder of each County having land in the
district. Any person may appeal from the judgment of the Court
on the following questions:
1. Whether just compensation has been allowed for
property appropriated;
2. Whether proper damages have been allowed for prop-
erty prejudicially affected by the improvement.

Section 17. The board of supervisors are given full authority to
construct any improvements that may be necessary to carry out,
maintain and protect the plan of improvement. The board is author-
ized to purchase equipment and do the work under is own direction;
or, it may let contracts for the works and improvements. If con-
tracts are let, they shall be advertised and let to the lowest and best
bidder, who is required to give a bond with ample security for the
proper performance of his contract. Plans and specifications for the
work shall be prepared by the chief engineer and incorporated in the
contract. The chief engineer is the superintendent of all works and
improvements and is required to make a full report once a year of
all work done and improvements made, and make such suggestions
and recommendations to the Board as he deems proper.

Section 18. After the list of lands and other property, with the
assessed benefits and the degree and judgment have been filed, as
provided in Sec. 16, then the board of supervisors levy a tax of such
portion of soil benefit upon all lands and other property assessed
benefits as may be found necessary by the supervisors to pay the
costs of the completion of the plan for reclamation and in carrying
out the objects of said district, plus ten per cent, (10%) for emer-
gencies. The tax is apportioned to and levied on each tract of land,
or other property in proportion to benefits assessed. If bonds are
to be issued, the estimated amount of interest that will accrue on
the bonds is included and added to the tax. The interest on the
~ bonds shall not be considered a part of the cost in determining
whether or not the cost of the improvements are or are not equal,
to the benefits assessed. The secretary, as soon as the tax is levied
must prepare a list of the taxes in the form of a well-bound book
which shall be signed and certified by the president and secretary
of the Board, attested by the seal of the district, and shall become a
permanent record in the office of the secretary.

Section 19. The Board of Supervisors each year determines
and levies the amount of the total tax that shall become due and be
90 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

collected at the same time that State and County taxes are due and
collected. The form of certificate and schedule to the collector of
revenue are prescribed.

Section 20. The collector of revenue is required to collect the
taxes, and shall pay over and account for all moneys collected, to
the treasurer of the District. The collector of the taxes is required
to give bond. The collection of delinquent taxes is also provided for.

SEcTIoN 21. This section provides for taxes unpaid after Decem-
ber Ist, becoming delinquent and bearing interest at the rate of two
per cent. (2%) per month.

SEcTION 22. This section provides penalties for failure of collector
to pay over taxes at the proper time. For his services the collector is
allowed one per cent (1%) of the amount of the taxes collected by
him and two per cent (2%) of the amount he collects of delinquent
taxes.

Section 23. All drainage tax provided in the act, together with
penalties for default in payment of same, and all cost of collection
including attorney’s fees, shall from the date of filing of the certificate
in the office of the Recorder in which the lands and property are
situated, until paid constitute a lien to which only the lien of the
State and County for general taxes shall be paramount. The form
of certificate and accompanying tables are prescribed.

Section 24. Provision is made for the collection of delinquent
tax or the sale of lands on which taxes are not paid.

Section 25. The secretary of the Board of Supervisors holds the
office of Treasurer, and gives bond to the amount fixed by the
Board; his books are to be audited once each year.

Section 26. The supervisors are clothed with authority to do
any necessary work or any necessary act; in order that they may ac-
complish this they are given the right of eminent domain. Authority
to hold, control and develop water power created by the construc-
tion of the district is also granted.

Section 27. The board is authorized to employ an attorney to’
act for the district and advise the Board, officers and employees.
He shall also conduct all legal proceedings and suits where the
district is a party, or interested.

Section 28. Provides for the keeping of the records of the dis-
trict.

Section 29. The Board of Supervisors are required to pay for
all lands appropriated before entering upon the same. If lands are
not ped for within five years from the date of filing the Commis-
sioner’s report, all proceedings as to the taking of such property shall
abate at the expense of the District.
MISSOURI DRAINAGE LAW 91

Section 80. All bridges and all enlargement of bridges already
in existence shall be built and enlarged in accordance with the plans,
specifications and orders made and approved by the chief engineer.
Corporations are required to construct or enlarge bridges at their
own expense. Land owners at their own expense and in compliance
with the provision of this act, may construct bridges across ditches.
Within ten days after a drain shall have been constructed across a
highway a bridge must be constructed and maintained over the ditch.
The word “corporation” in this Section is not to include counties.

Section 31. When right-of-way is secured across an embank-
ment, the owner at his own cost is required to raise it so that it will
conform with the levee of the district.

Section 32. Any warrant issued under this Act that is not paid
when presented to the Treasurer because of lack of funds in the
treasury draws interest at 6% per annum until such time as there
are funds to pay the amount of the warrant and accrued interest.

SEcTION 33. Provides that surety bonds are to be made payable
to the district.

Secrion 34. Provision is made for change of venue.

Section 35. Action under this Act shall not abate by reason of
the death or disability of any party to the proceeding; but upon the
suggestion of death or disability the cause is immediately revived in
the name of the heirs, devisees or other legal representatives and
summonses required to be served on them.

Srection 36. No appeal from the action of the Circuit Court
under this Act shall be permitted to act as supersedeas, or to delay
any action or work begun under the law.

Srecrion 37. If, after deciding the objections to the Commis-
sioner’s report, the Court finds that the estimated cost of the works
and improvements as reported or amended exceed the estimated
benefits, the Court shall render a decree declaring the district. dis-
solved as soon as all costs and obligations are paid. If the tax levied
under Section 2 is found insufficient to pay all such costs, the Board
of Supervisors shall make such uniform tax levies as will be sufficient
to pay the deficit.

Ssecrion 38. The Board of Supervisors is authorized to provide
compensation for work done and necessary expenses incurred by
employees and County officers.

Section 39. The word “owner’’ means the owner of free-hold
estate as appears by the deed record, and does not include reversion-
ers, remainder men, trustees or mortgagees, who need not be notified
or served by process, but are represented by the owner.
92 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Section 40. The Board of Supervisors, or any owner of land
adjacent to the district, may petition the Court organizing the dis-
trict to amend its former decree by correcting the names of land
owners, by striking out such names, by adding, striking out or cor-
recting the descriptions of land within the district, or to amend the
decree in any manner as to changing the plan for reclamation, or to
correct errors, omissions, or mistakes that may have been discovered
in the plans for reclamation, or to extend the boundaries to include
lands not included in the Articles of Association and Decree of the
Court incorporating the district. If the petitioner asks the Court to
change the plan of reclamation or boundary lines of the district,
the Court appoints three Commissioners as provided in Section 12.
Notice is also given as provided in Section 3. The form of notice is
prescribed. Land owners affected have the right to object, and their
objections are heard in a summary manner. The Court then issues
its decree; if the plan for reclamation is amended, changed or bound-
aries extended the Court then appoints three commissioners with
the same qualifications as those appointed under the provisions of
Section 12, who shall perform the duties required of commissioners
by Section 14, after which the case shall be proceeded with in the
same manner as is provided for in previous sections of this act.

Section 41. The board of supervisors has the power to appoint
an overseer or overseers to keep the works of the district in good
repair and to report to the Board at such times as they may require,
the condition of the works. The overseer has power to call out all
able-bodied citizens between certain ages in case of emergency or
danger and to compel them to do such work as is necessary. Penal-
ties are provided for any person that may refuse.

Section 42. The Board of Supervisors may issue bonds not to
exceed ninety per cent of the total amount of the tax levied; they shall
bear interest at the rate of six per cent (6%), payable semi-annually,
and are to mature at annual intervals within twenty years, commenc-
ing after a period of years not later than five, to be determined by the
Board of Supervisors. Both principal and interest to be payable
at some convenient banking house or trust company to be named
in the bonds. The bonds shall not be sold for less than 95% and
accrued interest. A sufficient amount of the drainage tax shall be
appropriated for the purpose of paying the principal and interest of
the bonds. In case the tax levied proves insufficient, an additional
tax shall be levied. The treasurer shall give a bond to protect the
district from loss. All sales of bonds must be promptly reported, and
unsold bonds must be returned to the Board on demand. The
Board issues warrants for the payment of maturing bonds and accru-
MISSOURI DRAINAGE LAW 93

ing interest, and the treasurer deposits sufficient funds at the place
of payment to pay the maturing bonds and coupons when due.

Section 43. The Board of Supervisors on or before the first of
September of each year may levy a tax for the maintenance of the
improvements. This tax is apportioned on the same basis as the
original tax, and shall not exceed ten per cent (10%) thereof in any
one year. The tax collector collects this tax in the same manner as
the annual installment tax.

Section 44. When there has been a material change in the value
of the property in the district the owners of twenty-five per cent or
more may petition for a readjustment of the assessment of benefits
for the purpose of making a more equitable basis for the levy of the
maintenance tax. Notice is given as provided in Section 3 on a pre-
scribed form. If the Court finds that there has been a material
change in the value of the property since the last assessment of bene-
fits, the Court orders a readjustment of benefits and appoints com-
missioners with qualifications as prescribed in Section 12 to make
such adjustment in the manner prescribed in Section 14. The com-
missioners in making the readjustment are not limited by any pre-
vious assessment. The annual maintenance tax is limited to not
more than ten per cent of the amount of benefits as readjusted.
Benefits shall not be readjusted oftener than once in five years.

Section 45. Any two or more adjacent districts may be united
in one district, and a new district has all the rights of a district
organized under this act. To effect such consolidation the Board of
Supervisors of each district call an election setting the time, place
and object of the election. If the majority of acreage in each district
vote in favor of the consolidation, the supervisors then petition the
Circuit Court in which the greatest amount of land is located; when
the petition is filed, the Clerk of the Circuit Court gives notice as
prescribed in Section 3. Any person owning land in either district
on or before the first day of Court may file objections to the regularity
or sufficiency of the proceedings, and if the objections are overruled,
or no objections made, the Court shall order that any two or more of
the districts asking shall be united and consolidated as one district
with all the rights, powers, and privileges of a district organized under
this Act, and the lands included, if in the district, shall be subject to
all liens, liabilities, and obligations of the original di strict. A rw
Board of Supervisors is elected.

_Ssctrion 46. If it is necessary to raise funds to complete the
plan for reclamation, pay for work already completed, pay outstand-
ing bonds or interest thereon, restore any work or contract new work
or for any other cause to extend the time for which the district has
94 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

been incorporated, a meeting is called and an election held as pro-
vided in Section 5. -If a majority in acreage vote in favor of the
extension the Board of Supervisors petition the Circuit Court pray-
ing for the extension of the corporate life of the district. After the
petition is filed, the procedure is the same as for incorporating the
district.

Section 47. If the work set out in the plan of reclamation is
found insufficient to reclaim in whole or in part any or all of the land
or property in the district, the Supervisors can formulate new and
amended plans, and additional assessments may be made as provided
in Section 14. If the total amount of tax levied, as provided in Sec-
tion 18 is insufficient, an additional levy may be made to provide
funds. The total of all levies of such tax must not exceed the total
amount of benefits assessed. : ‘ ;

Section 48. Authority is given the Board of Supervisors to re-
move any employee.

Section 49. All existing ditches, or water courses in the district,
shall be connected with and made a part of the plan of drainage;
but no ditch constructed after the completion of said plan for drain-
age shall be connected therewith until the written consent of the
Supervisors has been obtained, and such connection must be in strict
accordance with the method, terms and conditions laid down.
BiSecrion 50. In counties where the provisions of Chapter 119
of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, of 1909, are in force, the taxes
are certified to the township collector and collected in the same
manner as the State and County taxes. Delinquent taxes are cer-
tified and collected by the County Treasurer, as provided in Section
24. ,

Section 51. The owner of land or other property has the privilege
of paying tax levied, less the amount added thereto for interest, at
any time on or before a date fixed by the Board of Supervisors.
When such payment is made, the Secretary of the Board notes on
the Drainage tax record and the certificate in the Recorder’s office,
opposite each tract on which the tax has been paid, “Paid in Full.”

Section 52. Provision is made by which districts previously
organized, in process of organization, or that may be hereafter organ-
ized under previous or existing statutes may, at their option, re-
organize under the provisions of this Act.

Section 53. Districts reorganizing sign articles of association
and file the same with the Clerk of the Circuit Court, and then fol-
low the procedure prescribed in the law, but are required to keep the
same name as they now have and the life of the district must not be
for fewer years than the life of any existing obligation.
MISSOURI DRAINAGE LAW 95

Section 54. After the articles of Association have been filed
with the Circuit Clerk he gives notice in the manner and at the time
fixed in Section 3 on a prescribed form, of the proposed incorporation
of the district. The Circuit Court in which the first filing is made has
jurisdiction.

Section 55. After notice has been given, the procedure is the
same as where the Articles for the incorporation of the district have
been filed.

Section 56. Immediately after the Board of Supervisors have
been elected and have completed the election of their officers, the
officers having charge of the old districts are required to turn over all
funds, records, contracts, files, books, plats, and other articles or
records to the proper. officers of the districts, who are required to
receipt for the same.

Section 57. The supervisors may take advantage of proceed-
ings had under old organizations. When an existing district has re-
organized under this Act it is liable for all just obligations of the old
organization. No right of action shall exist nor remedy be allowed
that did not exist or was not allowed prior to the time of reorganiza-
tion. Two or more districts may reorganize and unite as a single
district.

(Sections 58 to 65 inclusive, relate to reorganization of districts
begun under earlier laws and are of only local interest.)
CONSERVANCY LAW OF OHIO 97

ABSTRACTS OF THE CONSERVANCY LAW OF OHIO
Passed February 6, 1914

To prevent floods, to protect cities, villages, farms and highways
from inundation, and to authorize the organization of drainage
and conservation districts.

ORGANIZATION OF DISTRICT

Section 2. Court of Common Pleas to Organize Districts. The
Court. of Common Pleas of any county in this State, or any Judge
thereof in vacation, is hereby vested with jurisdiction, power and
authority, when the conditions stated in the third section of this
act are found to exist, to establish conservancy districts, which may
be entirely within and partly without, the county in which said court
is located, for all or any of these purposes:

(a) of preventing floods;

(b) of regulating stream channels by changing, widening and

deepening the same;

(c) of reclaiming or of filling- wet and overflowed lands;

(d) of providing for irrigation where it may be needed;

(e) of regulating the flow of streams;

(f) of diverting, or in whole or in part eliminating water courses;
and incident to such purposes and to enable their accom-
plishment, to straighten, widen, deepen, change, divert, or
change the course or terminus of, any natural or artificial
water course; to build reservoirs, canals, levees, walls,
embankments, bridges or dams; to maintain, operate and
repair any of the construction herein named; and to do all
other things necessary for the fulfilment of the purposes
of this act.

Section 3. Petition. Before any court shall establish a district
as outlined in Section 2, a petition shall be filed in the office of the
clerk of said court, signed either by five hundred (500) freeholders,
or by a majority of the freeholders, or by the owners of more than
half of the property, in either acreage or value, within the limits
of the territory proposed to be organized into a district. Such
a petition may be signed by the governing body of any public cor-
poration lying wholly or partly within the proposed district, in such
manner as it may prescribe, and when so signed by such governing
98 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

body such a petition on the part of the said governing body shall
fill all the requirements of representation upon such petition of the
freeholders of such public corporation, as they appear upon the tax
duplicate; and thereafter it shall not be necessary for individuals
within said ‘public corporation to sign such a petition. Such a
petition may also be signed by railroads and other corporations own-
ing lands.

And such petition may also be filed by any city or cities interested
in some degree in the improvement, upon proper action by their
governing bodies. :

The petition shall set forth:

First: The proposed name of said district.

Second: The necessity for the proposed work and.that it will
be conducive to the public health, safety, con-
venience or welfare.

Third: <A general description of the purpose of the contem-
plated improvement, and of the territory to be in-
cluded in the proposed district. Said description
need not be given by metes and bounds or by legal
subdivisions, but it shall be sufficient if a generally
accurate description is given of the territory to be
organized as a district. Said territory need not be
contiguous, provided it be so situated that the public
health, safety, convenience or welfare will be pro-
moted by the organization as a single district of the
territory described.

Fourth: Said petition shall pray for the organization of the
district by the name proposed.

No petition with the requisite signature shall be declared null
and void on account of alleged defects, but the court may at any
time permit the petition to be amended in form and substance to
conform to the facts, by correcting any errors in the description of
the territory, or in any other particular. Several similar petitions
or duplicate copies of the same petition for the organization of the
same district may be filed and shall together be regarded as one pe-
tition. All such petitions filed prior to the hearing on said petition
shall be considered by the court the same as though filed with the
first petition placed on file.

In determining when a majority of land owners have signed the
petition the court shall be governed by the names as they appear
upon the tax duplicate, which shall be prima facie evidence of such
ownership.

Section 6. Hearing on Petition. Organization of District.
Any owner of real property in said proposed district who individually
CONSERVANCY LAW OF OHIO 99

may not have signed such a petition and who wishes to object to
the organization and incorporation of said district shall, on or before
the date set for the cause to be heard, file his objections why such
district should not be organized and incorporated. Such objections
shall be limited to a denial of the statements in the petition, and
shall be heard by the court as an advanced ease without unneces-
sary delay:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In case of a district lying in more than one county, one Common
Pleas Judge of each of the counties having land in the district shall
sit as a Court in the Court House where the original petition was
filed, to make the findings required by this section and by section
12 herein. The majority of said judges shall be necessary to render
a decision. In case of a tie said matter shall be forthwith certified
to the Court of Appeals of said county, and said Court shall hear
and determine said matter as an advanced case in preference to all
other business.

Section 7. Decree of Incorporation Filed. Within thirty (30)
days after the said district has been declared a corporation by the
court, the clerk of the court shall transmit to the Secretary of State,
and to the County Recorder in each of the counties having lands in
said district, copies of the findings and the decree of the court in-
corporating said district. The same shall be filed and recorded
in the office of the Secretary of State in the same manner as articles
of incorporation are now required to be filed and recorded under
the general law concerning corporations, and copies shall also be
filed in the office of the County Recorder of each county in which a
part of the district may be, where they shall become permanent
records and the Recorder in each county shall receive a fee of $1
for filing and preserving the same, and the Secretary of State shall
receive for filing and for recording said copies such fees as now are
or hereafter may be provided by law for like services in similar cases.

ORGANIZATION OF BOARD—ITS POWERS AND DUTIES

Section 8. Appointment of Directors. Within thirty (80)
days after entering the decree incorporating said district, the court
shall appoint three (3) persons, at least two (2) of whom shall be
resident freeholders within the district, as a Board of Directors of
the district—one for a term of three (3) years, and one for a term
of five (5) years and one for a term of seven (7) years. At the ex-
piration of their terms of office appointments shall be made for
_ terms of five (5) years. The court shall fill all vacancies which may
occur on the said Board. .
100 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

In case of a district lying in more than one county, appoint-
ments of directors under this Section, and of appraisers under Sec-
tion 26 of this act shall not be effective until approved by a majority
of the judges constituting the court provided for in Section 6 of this
act.

Section 12. To Prepare Plans. Upon their qualification, the
board shall prepare or cause to be prepared a plan for the improve-
ments for which the district was created. Such plan shall include
such maps, profiles, plans and other data and descriptions as may be
necessary to set forth properly the location and character of the work,
and of the property benefited or taken or damaged, with estimates
of cost and specifications for doing. the work.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Section 18. To Execute Works. The board of directors shall
have full power and authority to devise, prepare for, execute, main-
tain and operate any or all works of improvements necessary or
desirable to complete, maintain, operate and protect the Official
Plan. They may secure and use men and equipment under the
supervision of the chief enginer or other agents, or they may in their
discretion let contracts for such works, either as a whole or in parts.

Section 15. General Powers. In order to effect the protection,
reclamation or irrigation of the land and other property in the
district, and to accomplish all other purposes of the district, the board
of directors is authorized and empowered to clean out, straighten,
widen, alter, deepen or change the course or terminus of any ditch,
drain, sewer, river, water course, pond, lake, creek or natural stream
in or out of said district; to fill up any abandoned or altered ditch,
drain, sewer, river, water course, pond, lake, creek or natural stream,
and to concentrate, divert or divide the flow of water in or out of
said district; to construct and maintain main and lateral ditches,
sewers, canals, levees, dikes, dams, sluices, revetments, reservoirs,
holding basins, floodways, pumping station and syphons, and any
other works and improvements deemed necessary to construct,
preserve, operate or maintain the works in or out of said district;
to construct or enlarge or cause to be constructed or enlarged any
and all bridges that may be needed in or out of said district; to con-
struct or elevate roadways and streets; to construct any and all of
said works and improvements across, through or over any public
highway, canal, railroad right-of-way, track, grade, fill or cut, in or
out of said district; to remove or change the location of any fence,
building, railroad, canal, or other improvements in or out of said
district; and shall have the right to hold, encumber, control, to
CONSERVANCY LAW OF OHIO. 101

acquire by donation, purchase or condemnation, to construct, own,
lease, use and sell real and personal property, and any easement,
riparian right, railroad right of way, canal, cemetery, sluice, reservoir,
holding basin, mill dam, water power, wharf, or franchise in or out
of said district for right of way, holding basin or for any necessary
purpose, or for material to be used in constructing and maintaining
said works and improvements, to replot or subdivide land, open
new roads, streets and alleys, or change the course of an existing
one.

Section 16. To Advertise and Let Contracts. When it is de-
termined to let the work by contract, contracts in amounts to exceed
one thousand dollars ($1,000) shall be advertised after notice calling
for bids shall have been published, once a week for five (5) consecu-
tive weeks completed on date of last publication, in at least one
newspaper of general circulation within said district, where the work
is to be done, and the board may let said contract to the lowest or
best bidder who shall give a good and approved bond with ample
security, conditioned on the carrying out of the contract. But
said contract shall not be Jet to another than the lowest bidder unless
upon a hearing before the court, and with notice to all parties
interested, an order to be obtained therefor. Such contract shall
be in writing, and shall be accompanied by or shall refer to plans
and specifications for the work to be done, prepared by-the chief
engineer. Said contract shall be approved by the board of directors
and signed by the president of the board and by the contractor,
and shall be executed in duplicate. Provided, that in case of sudden
emergency when it is necessary in order to protect the district,
the advertising of contracts may be waived upon the unanimous
consent of the board of directors, with the approval of the court or
judge in vacation.

Section 17. Dominant Right of Eminent Domain. Said board,
where necessary for the purposes of this act, shall have a dominant
right of eminent domain over the right of eminent domain of rail-
road, telegraph, telephone, gas, water power and other companies
and corporations, and over townships, villages, counties and cities.

In the exercise of this right due care shall be taken to do no
unnecessary damage to other public utilities, and, in case of failure
to agree upon the mode and terms of interference, not to interfere
with their operation or usefulness beyond the actual necessities of
the case, due regard being paid to the other public interests involved.

Section 18. May Condemn Under General Law. Said board
shall also have the right to condemn for the use of the district, any
land or property within or without said district not acquired or
102 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

condemned by the court on the report of the appraisers, according
to the procedure provided by law for the appropriation of land or
other property taken for telegraph, telephone and railroad rights
of way, instead of having appraisals and assessments made by the
board of appraisers.

Section 19. May Make Regulations to Protect Works. Where
necessary in order to secure the best results from the execution and
operation of the plans of the district, or to prevent damage to the
district by the deterioration or misuse, or by the pollution of the
waters, of any water course therein, the board of directors may make
regulations for and may prescribe the manner of building bridges,
roads or fences or other works in, into, along or across any channel,
reservoir or other construction; and may prescribe the manner in
which ditches or other works shall be adjusted to or connected with
the works of the district or any water course therein; and, when not
in conflict with the regulations of the State Board of Health, may
prescribe the manner in which the water courses of the district may
be used for sewer outlets or for disposal of waste.

Section 21. Passing Equipment Through Bridge or Grade. In
case it is necessary to pass any dredge boat or other equipment
through a bridge or grade of any railroad company or other corpor-
ation, county, township, or municipality, the board of directors
shall give twenty (20) days’ notice to the owner of said bridge or
grade that the same shall be removed temporarily to allow the
passage of such equipment or that an agreement be immediately
entered into in regard thereto. The owner of said bridge or grade
shall keep an itemized account of the cost of the removal, and, if
necessary, of the replacing of said bridge or grade, and said actual
cost shall be paid by the district. In case the owner of said bridge
or grade shall refuse to provide for the passage of said equipment,
the board of directors may remove such bridge or grade at its own
expense, interrupting traffic in the least degree consistent with good
work and without delay or unnecessary damage. In case they shall
be prevented from doing so, the owner of said bridge or grade shall
be liable for damage for the resulting delay.

Section 22. May Make Surveys and Investigations. The board
of directors shall also have the right to establish and maintain stream
gages, rain gages, a flood warning service with telephone or telegraph
lines or telephone or telegraph service, and’ may make such surveys
and examinations of rainfall and flood conditions, stream flow, and
other scientific and engineering subjects as are necessary and proper
for the purpose of the district, and they may issue reports of their
findings.
CONSERVANCY LAW OF OHIO 105

Section 24. Water Power and Supply. The rights of land-
owners, municipalities, corporations, and other users of water to
the waters of the district for domestic use, water supply, industrial
purposes, for water power, or for any other purposes shall extend
only to such rights as were owned by them prior to the organization
of the district, and to such use as could be made of such waters if the
improvements of the district had not been made. Wherever the
organization of, or the improvements made by the district make
possible a greater, better, or more convenient use of, or benefit
from, the waters of the district for any purpose, the right of such
greater, better, or more convenient use of, or benefit from, such
waters shall be the property of the district; and such rights may be
leased, sold, or assigned by the district in return for reasonable
compensation.

Where the district is a riparian owner along the streams of the
district, it shall have in addition the rights which go with riparian
ownership.

All the rights and property of the district in the waters and
water courses of the district, and in their uses, shall be exercised
in such manner as to promote the welfare of the district and of all
inhabitants thereof, and to promote the safest and most economical
and reasonable use of the waters thereof; to encourage and promote
industries and agriculture, and to pay the cost of the construction
and maintenance of the improvement. Charges for such use shall
not be greater than are necessary to accomplish these purposes.

Persons, corporations, municipalities, or other parties desiring
to secure such use of the waters or water courses of the district, or
of the district rights therein, may make application to the board of
directors for lease, purchase, or permission for such use. Such
application shall state the purpose and character of such use, the
period and degree of continuity of such use, the amount of water
desired and the place of use. In case any party makes greater,
better or more convenient use of the waters of the district without
formal application, the fact of such use shall serve all purposes of
an application, and the board may proceed to determine a reasonable
rate of compensation the same as though formal application had
been made. Where it is not possible nor reasonable to grant all
applications, preference shall be given to the greatest need and to
the most reasonable use, as may be determined by the board of
directors, subject to the approval of the court. Preference shall be
given, first, to domestic and municipal water supply, and no charge
shall be made for the use of water taken by private persons for home
and farm yard use, or for watering stock; second, to supplying
104 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

water used in processes of manufacture, for the production of steam,
for refrigerating, cooling and condensing, and for maintaining sani-
tary conditions of stream flow; third, for irrigation, power develop-
ment, recreation, fisheries and for other uses.

The board of directors shall not permanently sell, lease, assign,
permit or otherwise part with the control by the district of the use
of the waters thereof, and rates for light, power or other services
charged by vendees, assignees, lessees or licensees of such board of
directors shall be subject at all times to revision and control by State
law. Assignments, leases, sales or permissions may be made for
periods of not greater than fourteen (14) years. At the termination
of the period of such assignments, sales, leases, or permissions, they
shall be renewed for a reasonable period not to exceed fourteen (14)
years, on the condition that a new determination is made of a reason-
able charge therefor, as herein provided; unless there are other ap-
plications on file, the granting of which would result in filling a greater
need or in a more reasonable use. In case such applications are on
file, they shall have preference.

APPRAISALS OF BENEFITS

Section 26. Appointment of Appraisers. At the time of mak-
ing its order organizing the district or at any suitable time there-
after, either in term or in vacation, the court or judge shall appoint
three (3) appraisers, who shall in every case where appraisers are
appointed under this act be recommended by the board of directors,
and whose duty it shall be to appraise the lands or other property
within and without the district to be acquired for rights of way,
reservoirs and other works of the district, and to appraise all benefits
and damages accruing to all lands within or without the district by
reason of the execution of the Official Plan. Said appraisers shall
be freeholders residing within the State of Ohio, who may or may
not own lands within said district. Each of the appraisers shall,
before taking up his duties, take and subscribe to an oath that he
will faithfully and impartially discharge his duties as such appraiser,
and that he will make a true report of such work done by him.
The said appraisers shall at their first meeting elect one of their own
number chairman, and the secretary of the board of directors or his
deputy shall be ex-officio secretary of said board of appraisers during
their continuance in office. A majority of the appraisers shall con-
stitute a quorum, and a concurrence of the majority in any matter
within their duties shall be sufficient for its determination. Said
CONSERVANCY LAW OF OHIO 105

appraisers shall continue to hold their offices until excused by the
court, and the court shall fill all vacancies in the board of appraisers,
or may appoint a new board for subsequent appraisals, as occasion
may require. Such new board, if appointed, shall fill all the re-
quirements of the board of appraisers of the district, and perform
its duties.

Section 28. Land Affected Outside District. If the appraisers
find that lands or other property not embraced within the bound-
aries of the district will be affected by the proposed improvement
or should be included in the district, they shall appraise the benefits
and damages to such land, and shall file notice, in the court, of the
appraisal which they have made upon the lands beyond the bound-
aries of the district, and to the land which in their opinion should
be included in the district. The appraisers shall also report to the
court any lands which in their opinion should be eliminated from the
district.

Section 30. Board Shall Make Report. The board of appraisers
shall prepare a report of its findings which shall be arranged in
tabular form and bound in book form, and which shall be known as
the Conservancy Appraisal Record. Such record shall contain the
name of the owner of property appraised as it may appear on the
tax duplicate or the Deed Records, a description of the property
appraised, the amount of benefits appraised, the amount of damages
appraised, and the appraised value of land or other property which
may be taken for the purposes of the district. They shall also report
any other benefits or damages or any other matter which in their
opinion should be brought to the attention of the court. No error
in the names of the owners of real property or in the descriptions
thereof shall invalidate said appraisal or the levy of assessments
or taxes based thereon, if sufficient description is given to identify
such real property.

When their report is completed, it shall be signed by at least a
majority of the appraisers and deposited with the clerk of the court
who shall file it in the original case. At the same time copies of that
part of the report giving the appraisal of benefits and appraisals of
land to be taken and of damages, in any county shall be made, certi-
fied to, and filed with the clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of such
county.

Section 31. Notice of Hearing on Appraisals. Upon the filing
of the report of the appraisers, the clerk of the court shall give
notice thereof, as provided in this act, in each county in the district.
Said notice shall be substantially as in Form 6 of the Schedules
hereto attached. It shall not be necessary for said clerk to name the
parties interested.
106 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

It shall not be necessary to describe separate lots or tracts of
land in giving said notice, but it shall be sufficient to give such
descriptions as will enable the owner to determine whether or not
his land is covered by such description. For instance, it will be

sufficient to state ‘All land lying in the........... Ward of the City
(a) ee ee ee ,’ or “All land abutting on........... Street in the
City of............ ,’ or “All land lying west of...... ‘.... River
and east of........... Railroad in............ Township,” or

any other general- description pointing out the lands involved.

Where lands in different counties are mentioned in said report,
it shall not be necessary to publish a description of all the lands in
the district in each county, but only of that part of the said lands
situate in the county in which publication is made.

Section 32. Hearing on Appraisals. Any property owner may
accept the appraisals in his favor of benefits and of damages and of
lands to be taken made by the appraisers, or may acquiesce in their
failure to appraise damages in his favor, and shall be construed to
have done so unless he shall within ten (10) days after the last
publication provided for in the preceding section file exceptions to
said report or to any appraisal of either benefits or damages or of
land to be taken which may be appropriated. All exceptions shall
be heard by the court beginning not less than twenty (20) nor more
than thirty (30) days after the last publication provided for herein,
and determined in advance of other business so as to carry out,
liberally, the purposes and needs of the district. The court may,
if it deem necessary, return the report to the board of appraisers
for their further consideration and amendment, and enter its order
to that effect. If, however, the appraisal roll asa whole is referred
back to the appraisers, the court shall not resume the hearing
thereof without new notice, as for an original hearing thereon. But
the court may, without losing jurisdiction over the roll, order the
appraisers to recast the roll when the order of the court specifies
the precise character of the changes thereof.

Section 41. Proceedings Not Invalid. No fault in any notice or
other proceedings shall affect the validity of any proceeding under
this act except to the extent to which it can be shown that such
fault resulted in a material denial of justice to the property owner
complaining of such fault.

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FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

Section 42. Funds. The moneys of every conservancy dis-
trict organized hereunder shall consist of three separate funds:
CONSERVANCY LAW OF OHIO 107

(1) Preliminary Fund, by which is meant the proceeds of the ad
valorem tax authorized by this act and such advancements as may
be made from the general county funds as provided in Section 43
of this act; (2) Bond Fund, by which is meant the proceeds of levies
made against the special assessments of benefits equalized and
confirmed under the provisions of this act; and (3) Maintenance
Fund, which is a special assessment to be levied annually. for the
purpose of upkeep, administration and current expenses as herein-
after provided. It is intended that the cost of preparing the Official
Plan, the appraisal (except as paid out of the Preliminary Fund)
and the entire cost of construction and superintendence, including
all charges incidental thereto, and the cost of administration during
the period of construction, shall be paid out of the Bond Fund.

No vouchers shall be drawn against the Preliminary Fund (except
for advances from the general county funds) or against the Mainte-
nance Fund until a tax-levying resolution shall have been properly
passed by the board of directors, and duly entered upon its records;
no bonds shall be issued against the Bond Fund until an assessment-
levying resolution shall have been properly passed by the board of
directors and duly entered upon its records, and until the property
owners shall have been given an opportunity for a period of not less
than thirty (30) days to pay the assessments so levied against their
respective properties.

Section 48. Preliminary Expenses—How Paid. After the
filing of a petition under this act, and before the district shall be
organized, the costs of publication and other official costs of the
proceedings shall be paid out of the general funds of the county in
which the petition is pending. Such payment shall be made on
the warrant of the auditor on the order of the court. In case the
district is organized, such cost shall be repaid to the county out of
the first funds received by the district through levying of taxes or
assessments or selling of bonds, or the borrowing of money. If the
district is not organized, then the cost shall be collected from the
petitioners or their bondsmen. Upon the organization of the
district, the court shall make an order indicating a preliminary
division of the preliminary expenses between the counties included
in the district in approximately the proportions of interest of the
various counties as may be estimated by said court. And the court
shall issue an order to the auditor of each county to issue his warrant
upon the treasurer of his county to reimburse the county having
paid the total cost.
108 DRAINAGE 1N MICHIGAN

Expenses incurred thereafter prior to the receipt of money by -
the district from taxes or assessment, bond sales, or otherwise, shall
be paid from the general funds of the counties upon the order of
the court and upon certification of the clerk of the court of such order
specifying the amount and purpose of the levy, to the auditor of
each county, who shall thereupon at once issue, his warrant to the
treasurer of his county, said payments to be made in proportion of
the order outlined by the court aforesaid. Upon receipt of funds
by the district from the sale of bonds or by taxation or assessment
the funds so advanced by the counties shall. be repaid.

As soon as any district shall have been organized under this
act, and a board of directors shall have been appointed and qualified,
such board of directors shall have the power and authority to levy
upon the property of the district not to exceed three-tenths of a mill
on the assessed valuation thereof as a level rate to be used for the
purpose of paying expenses of organization, for surveys and plans,
and for other incidental expenses which may be necessary up to the
time money is received from the sale of bonds or otherwise. This
tax shall be certified to the auditors of the various counties and by
them to the respective treasurers of their counties. If such items
of expense have already been paid in whole or in part from other
sources, they may be repaid from the receipts of such levy, and such
levy may be made although the work proposed may have been
found impracticable or for other reasons is abandoned. The collec-
tion of such tax levy shall conform in all matters to the collection
of taxes and assessments for the district outlined in this act, and the
same provisions concerning the non-payment of taxes shall apply.
The board may borrow money in any manner provided for in this
act, and may pledge the receipts from such taxes for its repayment,
the information collected by the necessary surveys, the appraisal
of benefits and damages, and other information and data being of
real value and constituting benefits for which said tax may be
levied. In case a district is disbanded for any cause whatever
before the work is constructed, the data, plans and estimates which
have been secured shall be filed with the clerk of the court before
which the district was organized and shall be matters of public
record available to any person interested.

Section 44. May Borrow Money. In order to facilitate the
preliminary work, the board may borrow money at a rate of interest
not exceeding six per cent per annum, may issue and sell or pay to
contractors or others, negotiable evidence of debt (herein called
warrants) therefor signed by the members of the board, and may
pledge (after it has been levied) the Preliminary Tax of not exceeding
CONSERVANCY LAW OF OHIO 109

three-tenths of a mill for the repayment thereof. If any warrant
issued by the board of directors is presented for payment and is
not paid for want of funds in the treasury, that fact with the date of
refusal shall be endorsed on the back of such warrant, and said
warrant of refusal shall be endorsed on the back of such warrant,
and said warrant shall thereafter draw interest at the rate of six
per cent. until such time as there is money on hand sufficient to
pay the amount of said warrant with interest.

Section 45. Board of Directors to Levy Assessment for Bond
Fund.—Additional Levies. After the list of real property, with the
appraised benefits as approved by the court, or that part thereof
from which no appeal is pending, has been filed with the secretary
of the district, then from time to time, as the affairs of the district ,
demand it, the board of directors shall levy on all real property,
upon which benefits have been appraised, an assessment of such por-
tion of said benefits as may be found necessary by said board to pay
the cost of the execution of the Official Plan including superinten-
dence of construction and administration, plus ten per cent. of
said total, to be added for contingencies, but not to exceed, in the
total of principal, the appraised benefits so adjudicated. The
said assessment shall be apportioned to and levied on each tract of
land or other property in said district in proportion to the benefits
appraised, and not in excess thereof, and in case bonds are issued
as provided herein and hereafter, then the amount of interest, which
will accrue on such bonds, as estimated by said board of directors,
shall be included in and added to the said assessment, but the in-
terest to accrue on account of the issuing of said bonds shall not be
construed as a part of the cost of construction in determining whether
or not the expenses and costs of making said improvement are or
are not equal to or in excess of the benefits appraised. As soon as
said assessment is levied, the secretary of the board of directors, at
the expense of the district, shall prepare in duplicate an assessment
record of the district. It shall be in a well-bound book endorsed
and named, ‘‘Conservancy Assessment Record of.......  .....
District”. It shall contain in tabular form a notation of the items
of property appraised, the total amount of benefits appraised against
each item, and the total assessment levied against each item. Where
successive levies of assessment are made for the Bond Fund, the
Conservancy Assessment Record shall contain suitable notation
to show the number of levies and the amount of each, to the end
that the Conservancy Assessment Record may disclose the aggre-
gate of all levies for the Bond Fund up to that time.
110 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Upon the completion of such record it shall be signed and certi-
fied by the president and secretary of the board of directors, attested
by the seal of the district, and the same shall thereafter become a
permanent record in the office of said district. A copy of that
part of the Conservancy Assessment Record affecting lands in any
county shall be filed with the auditor of such-county.

If it should be found at any time that the total amount of assess-
ments levied is insufficient to pay the cost of works set out in the
Official Plan or of additional work done, the board of directors
may make an additional levy to provide funds to complete the work,
provided the total of all levies of such assessment exclusive of in-
terest does not exceed the total of benefits appraised.

Section 46. Property Owners May Pay Assessment in Full.
When the assessment roll is placed on file in the office of the district,
notice by publication shall be given to property owners that they
may pay their assessments. Any owner of real property assessed
for the execution of the Official Plan under the provisions of this
act shall have the privilege of paying such assessment to the treasurer
of the board of directors within thirty (30) days from the time such
assessment is placed on file in the office of the district, and the.
amount to be paid shall be the full amount of the assessment less
any amount added thereto to meet interest. When such assess-
ment has been paid, the secretary of the board shall enter upon the
said assessment record opposite each tract for which payment is
made the words ‘“‘Paid In Full’, and such assessment shall be
deemed satisfied. The payment of such assessment shall not relieve
the land owner from the necessity for the payment of a maintenance
assessment aor for payment of any further assessment which may
be necessary as herein provided. Any property owner failing to
pay assessments in full as provided for herein shall be deemed to
have consented to the issuance of bonds as provided for in this
act, and to payment of interest thereon.

After the expiration of the period of thirty (30) days within
which the property owners may pay their respective assessments,
as limited herein, the treasurer of the district shall certify to the
board of directors the aggregate of the amount so paid, and there-
upon the board of directors shall pass and spread upon their records
a Bonding Resolution in which shall be stated the amount of the
assessment, and the amount thereof paid as aforesaid, and thereupon
the board shall in the same resolution apportion the uncollected
assessment into installments or levies, provide for the collection of
interest upon the unpaid installments, and they may order the is-
CONSERVANCY LAW OF OHIO 111

suance of bonds (in an amount not exceeding ninety (90) per cent.
of the levy) in anticipation of the collection of said installments.
The residue of the tax so levied (not less than ten (10) per cent.)
shall constitute a contingent account to protect the bonds from
casual default, and any part thereof in excess of ten (10) per cent.
of the next installment of maturing bond principal, together with
the next two (2) installments of semi-annual interest, if not needed
for this purpose may be transferred from time to time to the Mainte-
nance Fund of the district.

Section 47. Board of Directors May Issue Bonds.--How Paid.
—Funds.—How to be Used. The board of directors may, if in their
judgment it seems best, issue bonds not to exceed ninety (90) per
cent. of the total amount of the assessments, exclusive of interest,
levied under the provisions of this act, in denomination of not less
than one hundred dollars ($100), bearing interest from date at a
rate not to exceed six per cent per annum, payable semi-annually,
to mature at annual intervals within thirty (30) years, commencing
not later than five (5) years, to be determined by the board of
directors, both principal and interest payable at the office of the
treasurer of the State of Ohio. * * * * * * * * *# #

A party who has not sought a remedy against any proceeding
under this act until after bonds have been sold or the work con-
structed, cannot for any cause have an injunction against the col-
lection of taxes or assessments for the payment of said bonds.

Section 48.

* * * * * * OF * * * * * * * *

The amount of the Maintenance Tax paid by any parcel of land
shall not be credited against the benefits assessed against such parcel
of land; but the Maintenance Tax shall be in addition to any tax
that has been or can be levied against the benefit assessment.

Section 49. Petition for Readjustment of Maintenance Assess-
ments. Whenever the owners or representatives of twenty-five
(25) per cent or more of the acreage or value of the lands in the
district shall file a petition with the clerk of the court in whose office
the petition was filed, stating that there has been a material change
in the value of the property in the district since the last previous
appraisal of benefits, and praying for a readjustment of the ap-
praisal of benefits for the purpose of making a more equitable basis
for the levy of the maintenance assessment, the said clerk shall
give notice of the filing and hearing of said petition in the manner
hereinbefore provided.
112 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Section 50. Annual Levy. The board of directors shall each
year thereafter determine, order and levy the part of the total assess-
ments levied under this act, which shall become due and be collected
during each year at the same time that state and county taxes are
due and collected, which annual levy shall be evidenced and certified
by said board not later than September 1 each year to the auditor
of each county in which the real property of said district is situate.

Section 53. Conservancy Assessment to Constitute a Lien.—
How Evidenced. All conservancy assessments and taxes provided
for in this act, together with all penalties for default in payment of
the same, all costs in collecting the same, including a reasonable
attorney’s fee, to be fixed by the court and taxed as costs in the action
brought to enforce payment, shall, from date of filing the certificate
herein described in the office of the auditor for the county wherein
the lands and properties are situate, and until paid, constitute a
lien, to which only the lien of the state for general state, county,
city, village, school and road taxes shall be paramount, upon all
the lands and other property against which such taxes shall be levied
as is provided in this act.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Section 57. Surplus Funds and Annual Reports. Any surplus
funds in the treasury of the district may be used for retiring bonds,
reducing the rate of assessment or for accomplishing any other of
the legitimate objects of the: district.

At least once a year, or oftener if the court shall so order, the
board of directors shall make a report to the court of its proceedings
and an accounting of receipts and disbursements to that date which
shall be filed with the clerk of the court. Thereupon the court shall
order the auditing of said accounts by public accountants of recog-
nized standing who shall file their report thereon with the clerk of
the court.

INTERCORPORATE RELATIONS AND CONFLICT IN JURISDICTION

Section 61. Union of Districts. In case two or more districts
have been organized under this act in a territory, which, in the
opinion of the directors of either of the districts, should constitute
but one district, the board of directors of any one of the districts
may petition the court for an order uniting said districts into a
single district.

eR Rk OR eK ee Oe OF OK Ok Ok Ok Ok
CONSERVANCY LAW OF OHIO 113

Section 63. Subdistricts. Whenever it is desired to construct
improvements wholly within or partly within and partly without
any district organized under this act, which improvements will
affect only a part of said district, for the purpose of accomplishing
such work, subdistricts may be organized upon petition of the
owners of real property, within or partly within and partly without
the district, which petition shall fulfill the same requirements con-
cerning the subdistricts as the petition outlined in Section 3 of this
act is required to fulfill concerning the organization of the main
district, and shall be filed with the clerk of the same Court of Com-
mon Pleas, and shall be accompanied by a bond as provided for in
Section 4 of this act. All proceedings relating to the organization
.of such subdistricts shall conform in all things to the provisions of
this act relating to the organization of districts.

* * * * OK * * * * * * * x OK
DRAINAGE LAWS OF WISCONSIN 115

SYNOPSIS OF DRAINAGE LAWS OF WISCONSIN

In Wisconsin there are several Drainage Laws, but only two seem
to be used extensively; they are known as The Town Drain Law and
the Drainage District Law.

THE TOWN DRAIN LAW

APPLICATION: Whenever any six or more land owners in any
town, one or whom shall be the owner of land affected by the pro-.
posed drainage, wish to have a ditch, or drain, or dike, or other
work laid out, or water course enlarged in said town for the purpose
of draining any marsh, swamp or overflow lands lying within said
town, or for the purpose of preventing erosion or the depositing of
sand, sediment, or debris they shall make such application in writing
to the supervisors of said town, which application shall set forth:
The necessity of the proposed work, describing the same;
Map of the boundary of the area proposed to be drained;

The location of the proposed drain or drains;

A profile of the proposed drain or drains;

A name for the proposed drain;

The names of the owners of the land within the proposed
drainage area so far as known;

7. The names of the person or persons who caused the survey
to be made upon which the plans shall have been based;

8. An itemized statement of the cost of such survey;

9. A report of the College of Agriculture on:

(a) The quality of the soil.

(b) The feasibility of draining the area mapped.

(c) The probable benefits from the proposed work.

(d) The probable cost of constructing the proposed work.

(e) The probable distribution of the benefits among the
several parts of the district.

10. A prayer for the organization of a town drainage by the
name and with the boundaries proposed, and for the construction of
said drain under the direction of said Board of Supervisors. Upon
receiving such application the supervisors make out a notice and
fix therein a time and place at which they will meet to examine and
decide upon the need for the drain. The notice specified as nearly as

Se ES 02) RO
116 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

‘practicable the route of the proposed improvement and the lands
traversed. The petitioners cause personal service to be made upon
each resident owner, and three notices to be posted in the town at
least ten days before the hearing. Five days’ notice by personal
service is sufficient. The supervisors meet at the time and place
fixed, and, being satisfied that ample notice has been given, proceed
to examine the location of the proposed improvments, and hear
reasons for or against the proposed improvment and decide upon
the application.

If they find in favor of the improvement and that the benefit
will exceed the damages and cost of construction, within ten days
thereafter they grant the petition and award the damages to each
piece of land; contracts for construction are then let.

If any public highway will be benefited by the improvement the
amount of benefit is determined and assessed against the town.
The benefits to the lands are then assessed. The cost of the drain,
less the amount assessed to the town, is apportioned to the bene-
fited land in proportion to benefits received. The assessment of
benefits must be made within ten days after the contract is let. As
soon as the contract is let for the construction of the drain, and the
assessment for benefits is made, the taxes fall due and are paid to
the town treasurer who holds them as a separate fund.

[Whenever the supervisors find that a drain constructed under the
provisions of this act needs to be cleaned or repaired or it is necessary
to raise money for. any reason, they levy an additional assessment
upon the benefited land on the basis of the previous assessment of
benefits. All unpaid assessments are a lien against the property.

If at any time it is found that a land owner has not been notified,
they adjourn until such notice has been given; or, if after the order
for the laying out of the drain has been issued, they give him an
opportunity to appear, consider his objections, and either reaffirm
their former order or make such modifications as are equitable.

If a drain extends to the boundary of, but does not enter the
adjoining town the supervisors at the time of making the assessment
in their own town, or at any time thereafter, may assess the adjoin-
ing town a just amount of benefits. If the supervisors of the adjoin-
ing town object to the assessment, the supervisors of each township
select a disinterested person and the two select a third, and the three
review the assessment and make it equitable. Upon receipt of the
committee’s decision, the supervisors of the adjoining township pro-
ceed to assess the benefits to the land benefited.

Whenever it is necessary for a dredge, or other machinery, to
cross the right-of-way, of a highway, railroad, telephone or telegraph
DRAINAGE LAWS OF WISCONSIN 117

company, or any other right-of-way, the supervisors give notice to
the corporation at least eight days before the day on which the
dredge is to cross the right-of-way. On the day specified, or a mu-
tually agreeable day, the dredge crosses. The cost of crossing is in-
cluded as part of the cost of construction.

Any land owner aggrieved by any order of the supervisors within
twenty days thereafter may appeal to the County Court. The Court
appoints three disinterested, competent persons commissioners who
give notice when and where they will review the order or orders;
upon the date fixed, they will look over the drain, hear all persons
who desire to be heard and affirm or modify the order so as to make
it equitable, and return the decision to the County Judge who trans-
mits it to the Clerk of the town. In case of appeal from the refusal
of the supervisors to lay out a drain, if the commissioners decide in
favor of a drain the supervisors shall proceed to lay it out.

If the lands that it is desired to drain are in a City, application is
made to the mayor and aldermen, who appoint a committee of three
suitable, competent, disinterested persons who are sworn honestly,
faithfully and impartially to discharge their duties; and who there-
after have the same powers, perform the same duties and have the
same obligations as given to and imposed upon the supervisors here-
tofore. In villages application is made in the same manner to the
President and Board of Trustees.

If the land to be drained lies partly within two towns or partly
within a town and partly within a city or village, the application shall
be made in duplicate and one copy shall be filed with the clerk of
each. The mayor and aldermen of the City, or president and trustees
of the village shall meet separately and appoint a committee, which
committee whall be sworn as previously provided. The supervisors
and committee then act jointly as a single drainage board and have
all the powers, perform the duties, and are subject to the same
obligations as the town supervisors.

A majority of any body, committee or board shall constitute a
quorum and have full powers to act. The same appeal to the County
Court may be taken by aggrieved land owners as is provided for,
from order of the town supervisors. The Court to which appeal is
first made has jurisdiction.

Cities and villages are assessed forand pay benefits to the public
highways the same as a town. If any officer or body fails or refuses
to perform any act or acts required of them, then within a specified
time, the facts being brought before the Circuit Court of the County
the Judge shall order the body to show cause why he or they should
118 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN.

not perform such act or acts, and said officer or body be ordered to
perform the act or acts unless good cause to the contrary be shown.

In case the owners of a majority of the assessed lands desire it,
the supervisors may borrow money to pay the cost of construction;
such money to be repaid in three annual installment, in which event,
one-third of which installments shall be due each year. Drainage
securities bearing six per cent interest may be issued, which securities
are a lien on the assessments and the said assessment shall bear six
per cent interest until collected. Any assessment may be paid in
full at any time before such securities are sold. When upon an appeal
to the County or Circuit Court an error is discovered in any of the
proceedings prior to said appeal or action, the Court shall exercise
equitable jurisdiction therein and correct or cure such error by order,
and thereafter progress shall be made as if there had been no error
in the original proceedings.

When any land owner or owners desire drainage of undrained
lands under any Public Drain Law of Wisconsin, they may apply to
the County or Circuit Court wherein such lands may lie, for the per-
mit to survey the undrained lands; such permit authorizes them to
go on such lands as are sought to be included in the drainage
scheme and make necessary surveys. Anyone interfering with them
is guilty of a misdemeanor.

THE DRAINAGE DISTRICT LAW

Whenever a majority of the adult owners of land within any
district of wet, swampy, marshy or overflowed lands, who shall
represent one-third of the area of the lands within said district to be
reclaimed or benefited, or whenever an adult owner or owners of
more than one-half of the lands within such district desires or desire
to construct one or more drains, ditches, levees or other works across
the lands of others for the promotion of the public health or welfare
and the drainage of said lands; or desire to maintain or keep in repair
any such drain, ditch or levee heretofore constructed under any law
of this State, such owners may file in the Circuit Court of any County
in which the lands or any part of them shall lie, a petition setting
forth:

The necessity of the proposed work, describing the same.

A map of the boundaries of the proposed district.

The location of the proposed drain or drains.

A profile of the proposed drain or drains.

A name for the proposed drainage district.

The names of the owners of the land within the proposed
district, so far as known.

SIE BRE RD IS
DRAINAGE LAWS OF WISCONSIN 119

7. The name or names of the person or persons who caused the
preliminary survey to be made upon which the plan shall have been
based.

8. An itemized statement of the cost of said survey.

9. A report of the College of Agriculture on:

(a) The quality of the soil; (b) The feasibility of draining
the area included in said map; (c) The probable benefits from
the proposed work; (d) The probable cost of constructing the
proposed work; (e) The probable distribution of the benefits
among the several parts of the district.

10. A prayer for the organization of a drainage district by the
name and with the boundaries of the plans proposed, and for the
appointment of commissioners for the execution of the proposed
work according to the provisions of this and the following sections.

No petition having the required number of signers shall be de-
clared void, but the Court shall permit it to be amended to conform
to the facts if the facts justify the organization of a district. Several
similar petitions may be circulated, and when filed are regarded as
one petition, having as many signers as there are separate qualified
citizens on the several petitions.

The territory included in the district need not be contiguous,
provided that it is so situated that the public health and welfare
w.ll be promoted by the drainage of each part and the benefits in
each part will exceed the cost, and the court is satisfied that said
proposed work can be done more cheaply as a single district.

The guardian or next of kin of minors or incompetents may sign
the petition of the establishing of the district. In case they have no
guardian and the next of kin does not reside in Wisconsin any person
interested in the proposed drainage district may file an application
for the appointment of a guardian, and the Court in its discretion
may appoint such general guardian. All lands owned by minors and
incompetents whose guardians sign such petitions shall be counted
in determining whether sufficient land owners have signed such
petition. ;

On the petition being filed, the Judge makes an order fixing the
time and place of hearing, and the Clerk of the Court gives notice
by posting notices thereof in five public places in the district, and
by serving a copy of such notice on each owner of land in the pro-
posed district, who resides in any county in which any lands in the
proposed district are situated, either personally or by leaving a copy
at his usual place of abode, and by publishing a copy of the notice
at least once a week for three successive weeks in some newspaper
120 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

published in each county from which part of the district is to be
taken. The notice must state the court in which the petition is
filed, describe briefly the drain, give a general description of the
proposed work, the proposed boundaries of, or a general description
of all lands in the district; the name for said district, and state the
time and place of hearing.

The names and addresses of non-residents must be given, if
known, and a copy of such notice shall be mailed to each non-resident
land owner within six days of the first publication of the notice.

If it should be found before the hearing on the petition that one
or more land owners have not been duly served with notice of said
hearing, the hearing shall be adjourned by the Court until service
of notice has been made upon each land owner; upon the adjourned
day the same proceedings, adjournments, trial, findings and order
may be had as in the case of complete service in the first instance.
In case of failure to mail or publish notice as required, the Court
may adjourn for a sufficient time to permit the mailing or publica-
tion.

At the hearing on the petition it may be contested on the follow-
ing grounds: The sufficiency of the petition; the sufficiency of the
signers of the petition; the sufficiency of the notice; the constitutional-
ity of the law; the jurisdiction of the Court; whether or not the public
health and welfare will be benefited; and whether the benefit will
exceed the cost. The court after hearing all the evidence decides for
or agisint the establishment of the district.

If the district is established, three suitable, competent persons
are appointed commissioners and their bonds fixed. The persons
appointed commissioners need not be residents of the county in
which the district is situated, but must reside within 25 miles of the
district and may own land in it. After the commissioners are ap-
pointed the district is a fully organized drainage district with the
right to sue and be sued, and with all the rights and powers of a
public corporation and in addition has the power to borrow money.
The ’commissioners take oath to support the Constitution of the
United States, the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin, and faith-
fully and impartially to discharge their duties and make a true ac-
count of their dealings, and execute a bond. They organize by elect-
ing one of their members chairman, one secretary and one treasurer,
and a majority shall constitute a quorum. Their term of office is
for two years and accurate record is required to be kept of all monies
received and disbursed and an accurate and full record of their
proceedings, and they are required to submit an annual statement
showing all receipts and disbursements, the cost of and the work
DRAINAGE LAWS OF WISCONSIN 121

accomplished. They are paid $3.50 per day and actual reasonable
expenses. They are, at all times, under the jurisdiction of the court
and must obey its direction.

The commission employes a qualified drainage engineer as dis-
trict engineer and fixes his compensation. They then have necessary
surveys made, lay out the proposed work and make and file a report
to the court. This report states: Whether the proposed work and
location are proper and feasible, and if any repairs the most feasible
changes; the changes in boundaries are shown; the lands that will be
damaged and the damages awarded to each tract; the lands that
will be benefited and the benefits awarded each tract, and afterwards
referred to as assessments of benefits; the total cost of the improve-
ments; any corporations that receive special benefits from the con-
struction of the improvements shall pay its proportionate share of
the cost of the proposed work. ‘‘Corporation’’ is defined to include.
railroad corporations and other private corporations, towns, cities,
villages,and other drainage districts. That portion of the cost of
construction not assessed against the lands in the district is appor-
tioned to the corporations.

The probable cost of keeping the proposed work in repair, and
if the district is to do further work on an existing drain the commis-
sioners report on the feasibility of the project, the probable cost of
upkeep; the lands that will be benefited; whether or not the benefits
exceed the damages and whether or not the district embraces all
lands that will be benefited; maps, plans and specifications shall be
included in the report.

The commissioners have the authority to make any changes neces-
sary in the plans proposed by the petitioners and to include or ex-
clude lands from the district. *Their report is filed with the clerk of
the court. Upon the filing of the report the court fixes the time and
place where all persons interested may appear and remonstrate
against the confirmation of the report. Notice of the hearing is
given by publication and by personal service on all persons or cor-
porations who it is proposed to assess, and who reside in the County
at least twenty days before the date of the hearing. The notice contains -
full information in regard to the damages and benefited to the
several tracts. :

Two or more days before the date set for the hearing, any person
or corporation may file a remonstrance against the whole or any part
of the proposed work or any changes in boundaries of the assessment
of benefits or damages, or for any other reasons. The Court fixes
the time at which the remonstrants will be heard. Land owners
remonstrating against the assessments of benefits or amount of
122 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

damages may demand a jury trial; all other remonstrants are heard
by the court. If the report requires modification the Court orders
the commissioners to modify it. If there are no remonstrances, or
if the court finds in favor of the report as filed, or as it has been
modified to conform to the findings of the Court, the Court confirms
the report and establishes the district and the assessments are con-
firmed. The order of confirmation is final, unless appeal be taken
within thirty days to the Supreme Court. The order of confirmation
may be amended on petition of the commissioners after such notice
as the court may require. The report may be confirmed in part from
time to time at the discretion of the Court.

After the assessments are confirmed, the court orders the assess-
ments to be paid in not more than fifteen annual installments and
fixes a date not more than five years thereafter on which the first
installment of the assessment for construction shall become due.
Each installment shall draw interest from the date of the order.
Unless otherwise ordered the assessment shall be due and ‘payable
at once. Any land owner may pay his assessment before the com-
missioners have contracted to borrow money and issue securities
therefor based on the assessment.

From the time of entry of the order and the filing of the notice
thereof with the register of deeds the assessments and interest
thereon become a lien on the land.

The commissioners are required to receive competitive bids for
the money desired or for the sale of bonds.

The commissioners are required to file an annual report each year
with the clerk of the circuit court, which report shall contain:

1. An itemized report of receipts and expenditures.

2. A statement of all bonds paid off during the past year.

' 3. All work done in the district during the year and the location
thereof. ;
- 4. What bonds have been issued since their last report.

5. What repairs-to the work will be necessary during the next
coming year.

6. Location and probable cost of such repairs and of the up-
keep of the work.

7. What sum it will be necessary to raise in incidental expenses
for the next succeeding year.

8. Assess the cost of necessary repairs, up-keep and incidentals;
which assessment shall be known as Assessment for Repairs and shall
be apportioned on the sum total of all assessments of benefits then
in force.
DRAINAGE LAWS OF WISCONSIN 123

The land owners have a right to object to the report, and objec-
tions are heard and determined by the Court. Notice of the filing
of the annual report is given by publication and a copy is mailed to
each land owner whose address is known. The annual report is
heard by the court. All objectors are heard, the amount of assess-
ments fixed and determined and recorded.

After assessments for construction are confirmed, notice of the
confirmation and the time and place where assessments may be paid
is given by publication. If assessments are not. paid when due the
lands are certified to the clerk of the town, city, or village in which
situated and the assessments are collected in the same manner as
other general taxes. Lands on which assessments are not paid are
sold by the County treasurer in substantially the same manner as
lands are sold for other general taxes. In case of error, the law
makes provisions for the correction thereof.

The town treasurer is required to transmit the drainage moneys
collected by him to the commissioners and penalties are provided
for failure to do so.

The county treasurer keeps a separate account for each drainage
district whose funds he handles, and must turn over these funds on
demand, to the commissioners.

If assessments are payable in installments, each installment shall
draw interest at the rate of six per cent, payable annually from the
date of the order fixing the assessment until paid.

The commissioner and their employees, servants or agents have
the right to go upon all lands along the improvements for the purpose
of inspecting, repairing, deepening or widening whenever necessary.

If the court confirms the assessment of benefits and the validity
of the same is later questioned by the commissioners or other in-
terested parties, the law provides that the Judge may hear the
matter, make the necessary corrections and amendments to former
proceedings and issue an order of validation which renders valid
and binding all former proceedings as amended by the Court.

The commissioners are given the right to construct drains across
railroad right-of-way and the district is required to pay the reason-
able costs of the culverts and bridges made necessary by the con-
struction of the drain. Upon fifteen day’s notice, the railroad com-
pany is required to open its right-of-way and permit the construction
of the drain. Appropriate penalties are provided in case the company
does not do so. Me be

If the assessment for construction is not sufficient, or additional
funds are necessary to pay the legal indebtedness of the district,
124 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

additional assessments are proportioned on the sum of all the assess-
ments of benefits made by the commissioners and approved by the
court. The additional assessments when confirmed by the court,
are collected in the same manner as original assessments. The cost
of construction already assessed, and the cost of construction pro-
posed shall not exceed the benefits already assessed.

The commissioners of any district when petitioned by the owners
of one-tenth of the land in the district, or of their own initiative may
enlarge existing drains or construct new drains when in their judg-
ment the plan of drainage is insufficient. The procedure is prac-
tically the same as for the organization of the drain. The supple-
mental benefits are so assessed that the sum total of such supple-
mental benefits and the total benefits already assessed against the
land shall be proportional to the actual benefits accruing to the said
lands from all the drains constructed. The assessment of supple-
mental benefits does not operate to change the apportionment of
assessment for construction previously confirmed.

The law makes provision for the correction of erroneous assess-
ments when discovered.

The commissioners may borrow money not exceeding in amount
the amount of assessments for construction, additional assessments,
or assessments for repairs unpaid at the time of borrowing, for the
purpose of paying lawful obligations of the district, and may secure
the same by notes or bonds bearing interest at a rate not to exceed
6% and not running beyond one year after the last installment of
the assessment on account of which the money shall be borrowed.
The notés or bonds are a lien upon the assessment.

In letting contracts costing to exceed $500.00 the commissioners
are required to advertise for sealed bids in a newspaper published
in the county and in their option, in one or two published without
the county. Contracts shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder.

The commissioners of any district having at least eight miles of
open ditch, drain or levees within its boundaries may petition the
court stating that it is necessary to make annual repairs to said im-
provements and that in order to make such repairs certain machinery
is necessary and that it would be more economical for the district
to own the necessary machinery and do the work itself than to have
it done under contract, and requesting that they be authorized to
purchase, operate, and maintain such machinery, dredges or other
appliances as are necessary to keep the improvements in repair.
The court holds a hearing on this petition; hears the protests of the
land owners, and if it finds against the purchase of the necessary
DRAINAGE LAWS OF WISCONSIN 125

machinery costs are charged to the general fund of the district. If
the court finds in favor of the purchase of the machinery, the com-
missioners are authorized to proceed with the purchase and opera-
tion of the necessary machinery and may levy such additional
assessments on all the assessable land in the district as are necessary
to pay for the cost of the machinery; provided, that the said assess-
ment shall not exceed 15% of the original assessment.

Damages allowed the owners of land must be paid or tendered
before the commissioners are authorized to enter on the land.

The law provides that the owners of the land not abutting on a
drain, by filing affidavit with the commissioner that he owns land in
‘the district, that it needs drainage, and that it is shut off from a
public drain, may secure entrance to the drain. When such affidavit
is filed the commissioners give notice, hold a hearing, and if they
decide that such drain is needed establish it as a public drain and
apportion the costs to the lands benefited.

When any lands outside the district are benefited the commis-
sioners may file a report to the court showing the facts, and proceed-
ings are initiated for bringing these lands into the district. District
boundaries cannot overlap.

The law specifically provides that the court shall, at all times have
supervision of commissioners of drainage districts, and may at any
time require them to make a report on any matter or matters con-
nected with their duties as commissioners, and may remove the
commissioners from office for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office,
or for other good reason, or require that they give new bonds. The
court is charged with general supervision over all matters pertaining
to drainage districts and may make such orders with respect to all
matters pertaining to the carrying out of the work as may be for
the best interests of the district.

After the expiration of five years from the confirmation of the
report of the commissioners, upon petition of one-fourth of the owners
of the land within the district setting forth that said original esti-
mate of benefits is inequitable and unjust the court shall direct
the commissioners to reassess the lands of the district for benefits.
On such reassessment the benefits to said lands will be assessed ac-
cording to the actual benefits without reference to the original report.
Hearing is heard on the reassessment in the same manner as for the
original assessment. All assessment for construction, additional
assessments and assessments for repairs shall be based on the latest
assessment of benefits confirmed by the court.
126 DRAINAGE IN MICHIGAN

Districts are authorized to condemn land for the purpose of
constructing, maintaining and operating drainage improvements.
Penalty is provided for placing obstruction in drains that may have
been constructed by any district. ;

The method of connecting lateral ditches with the drains of the
district is fixed, and no person shall make such connection without
first securing the written consent of the commissioners and the con-
nection is to be made in accordance with the specifications for con-
necting such lateral with such drainage districts or canals as are
furnished by the Dean of College of Agriculture of the University of
Wisconsin.

‘The law provides for the withdrawal of water from the drainage
districts for irrigation purposes.
 

 

INDEX

 

 
INDEX

  

 

 

 

 

 
    

A
a Page
Act 254 Michigan Laws 1897, reference to 22
Application for drain, Michigan Law on 44
ASSOSS66, MENUS Of... 66 isk e eee ce a an : 66, 76
B
Benefits of drainage area where proven.......0...000 0.0 cece ccc eee eceune 17.
Berns, WAAU AOL 6 ac ti aren hs dese aba. ducteaqsagern! dh Bond sndh BH eaete Weary aeatndom disarie ded 35
Board of Review, appointment and duties of............................0.. 47
Bonding provisions, necessity for.............0..0.00 000 cee eel eel 56
Bridges, construction of, laws relating to...... 0 .........0cec eevee evel 67, 68, 91, 102
Cc
Chart 1, graphic record drain expenditure by counties, 1898-1917............. 23
Chart 2, graphic record drain expenditures, 1898-1917....................... 24
Clay lands, benefits to from drainage................ 0.00000 ccc cece ee eee 15
Clay soil, effect of fineness of in drainage... 1.0.0.0... 000.02 e eee eee 15
increasing productivity of, by drainage 15
a: percentage of in Michigan............. 15
CUMAtE OF MICHIBAN. oc 5 i ead kaa a ede ey engin 13
“Coefficient of runoff,"’ definition of, and value in Michigan.................. 32
Construction expense, percentage of 26, 27
Construction methods..................0.00000- 37
Contingent expenses, percentage of 26, 27
Contracts, letting of, basis for........ 39
Cost ANaIVSIS, COUNTY CPAINS:.. 0 ody es neue ecb w ead s eomn ned ons auanenader 25
County drains, average annual expenditure on.............. 0.000000 eevee 24
AVEFABE PEM COUNTY... sessed hehe eA ee mA RRR EL EEG A So 24
COStEANAIVSIS: Of ee oc 35.262 coaverecan Shhh Bak ease ss AEE RR RES, 25
expenditures on, 1898-1917 tables of... ....... 0.0.0.0. 000005 23, 26
County Drain Commissioner, duties of, in Michigan...................... é 43-44
County drain commissioners, number in Michigan... . 22
County drain system, development of in Michigan......................20.. 23
D
Designs TOM Grains 0 siya ye.4 es hs wee we Gace pore) Behe Raed Gree hae os amulet 28
for outlet...... 28
for watershed 35
Ditches, capacity and efficiency of... 0... 0... eee 33
character of side slopes Of............ 00.00.00 eee 35
depth and bottom width of.......... 0.0.00 .00 00620 Fee ee eee 33
BTA OC Ole a owe aie Gere cic ned inaige chaadtiataaen aa ae ee ane adel aud ehhn Ae eco Ss 35
methods of Construction. « 646i sewn reek AGG GENE OR ease Psy 33
prevention of sand-bars in... . 2.2... ee 33
Drain Commissioner, duties of in Michigan........................00-- 43, 45, 49, 50
Drain construction, increased cost of... 2.2... 02 eee 25
increased use of tile for... 0.2... eee 39
Drain, definition of, Michigan law... 2.2... 0... cee 43
Drain Law of 1839, reference to... 1.00... ee eee 21
Drain taxation, basis of in Michigan. .................0..0.00.0 2.00020 eee eee 48
Drain: t¥POSen wis sé bo ck ee eA RL Ma eed OM RRR UR Deg s4 Ea eee Sy Ewe ae EE ee K 28
team and scraper, defects Of... 2.1... ee eee 28
Drainage a community problem. . 2... 2.1... ee 48
Drainage Board or Commissioners in other States............ 0.0.0... e ee eee 58
need for in Michigan..................... 58
Drainage in Michigan, early, county and township plans............. sis dectendense: G 21
Drainage problem, an hypothetical............. eee re ee eer ree em 35
Drains constructed 1898-1917, number, miles of, total cost, average cost....... 25
worked on in 1913-1917, average 1 25
Drains, designs for.................. y 28
inspection of and maintenance. 42
Drains, open, for watershed, design Of.... 2.2.2.2... 6 ee ee eee 35
small, reason for construction of...... 0... ... 0.00.05 eee eee eee 56
E
Elliott, C. G., formula for determining runoff.............. ee ere 32
Expenditures, percentage of for construction, overhead, contingent............ 26, 27
F
Final Order of Detrmination, for Michigan drains... .. ............ ........ 46
First Order of Detrmination, for Michigan drains..................... at 44
Blood. protectiONs oi 5.56 sees 5 ar weve creme swe Win saads qeernoldn hin mn a avareny a alae Bah Ow 58
130 INDEX.

 

 
 

 
 
  
 
 
 

  

 

G
Page
Georgia Drainage Law..... free lente ca si aadeeed Sindudld La eMtcadaiutani ng ese gee 62-68
Georgia Drainage Law, provisions relating to
assessee, right Olio ee eh cae windon en amin eae ee RE : 66
assessments, determination and payment Of........... 0.0.0 s eee ee eee 63, 66, 67
Board of Drainage Commissions. ........... 0.06 c eee eet eens 64
Board of Viewers, powers and duties 0f.......... 00.0 e eee eens 62, 63
bonds, issuance and sale of........ 0.6... e eee eee eee Pinaceae ss Sb cain 66, 67, 68
bridges, building and repair of.......... 0... ee ee eens 67,
classification of lands and assessments... .... 2.006 eee eee eee 3
drainage district, establishment Of... . 0.2.2.0... 06 cece ee eee 62, 63
Drainage Record . 64
hearings on drain petitions............ 02.6 bee ee eee 63
highways, drains crossing of.......... 0... cece ec bee 65
petitions for drains...............+-..2-. Baoan leioauediie debehistise dy Hah sonsee 62
railway companies and right of way for drains.....................4.. 64, 65
Fepairs, ClEANIN GH cia Ga Hain s-es a Hee Oe Goh Malena parece 65
Superintendent of construction... . 64
Great Lakes, effect of on climate . 13
Grade, for open ditches.......... 35
er I
Inspection of drains, during construction...........0.0. 0.0.00 e eee eee 42
Intensive farming, to follow drainage of sand bottom lands................... 15
Iowa Drainage Law.............--. eee ees BIO EM get Se ape 69-82
Iowa Drainage Law, provisions of relating to,
ASSORSEE, TIBNGS OL 2. oseisisey3. cask gitviparsseriedapece er dt Hee Cae ig aua eS a OSes 76
assessments and taxeS... 1.0.0... ee eens 72, 77,.80
Board Of SUPErVISOMB:. i.e oie ie ieiese sale win i ievseseiseunlelctieel of sobegy eh ababicn oye. ste on de peal iagracaad) 76, 79, 80
Board OF TRUStOOS 5:51.64 lai caincolereueuaciud oo eeciak a dined Biola a bois resuesigauniecian shal Beat 81
DOTS 035 ortsesos ct Btn 4 tendo field haha doetiay ie nen apie Mena ach dud kat daa oeulqiaw he aes oat 77
construction, contract, notice of letting...... Bit G Axil hie Pinan piuiney Bae K 72
Construction Engineer, duties and compensation....................4. 73, 79
TAA OS csi esac eevee va Sk ues Beers budaituh Fr 4, Bes Lahn Ge Naan eg a eae bse. ap 71, 78
drainage district, establishment of................ 0.00000 c eee eee eee 69, 76, 78
Drainage Recordisascc cise arch pusastcare Snel ne dk enter Gee Hiays a Ladle ia 79
TAIN AZO TAK. sieosis xigce mse onan, gies wot pOHReMCGNE TAF 2F Haig te aya Ee ig A else CIES 74, 75, 77
engineer, appointment and duties of sya i .70, 72, 73, 79, 80
hearings on drain petitions.............. 00. c cence eee 71
highways, drain crossing. 75
improvements within establi hed distric 73
Improvement Certificates 77
inspection of drains Ge Scs TMD Mayle Soh 80
inter-county drains : Pbasinaeiohisac mn aeneaie: Abtwh-Datal auineone g 78
AN COPStA CO ATAIMS 2c seisiuoucesnsisosrinssiee's bere gD Pahargownd WlgvS B lodadaueneetstaer iad dvercesene ese’ 79
JOINT: COUNTY \OPAIDS » »..,3.5:ccuaudaumind 049-0 S48 x ek ig eben ae ASTAA Ha 4 78
POCAROE UF BING 55a as ara mardi 26 ke OSM Mak wanmedoe ese LEER ASS 70
notice of pendency of petition......... 0.0.0... ccc eee 70
DOCUGIOT: POT TAINS eis cioucescsen as shou he 8 MOR ARUN werk diced sled sri pRone Bete toasted AE 69
PLOHIMINATY CX DOTSES sj ia.s icc yscest ie icles. gas de Med, setters dod RutirteanNdete dH aA aE aave ast, aoe 80
railway rights of way, tO CTOSS.......0.. 00000 c ccc ce eee eee nee 70, 75
SURGISUMCURs is ages rece ww hie Duna kek eae deen be AYO REY ETL CER 76
iti 81
126
50, 55
62-68
69-82
43-50
83-96
97-114
126

 

5, 77, 87, 89, 90,
93, 94, 107, 109, 110, 121, 122, 123, 125
bonds for drainage laws relating to. nee 67, 68, 77, , 89, 92, 106, 111, 122, 124
Drain Soe Ener and boards. . 44, 64° Br 99-100, 120, 121, 125
CibChes, HIWRING OE. 5 and 8 ek Ey S444 S SOA GRR ba on oe ea -
drainage districts, formation of.

 

  

Drainage Records, keeping of...

 

engineers................0-. 9, 80
FOUN COUNEY APAIER, oe ewe so gad emedeN ond oe nuw ek ee ee 6 50, 51, 78, 99, 100
Jetting: Of CONETACES ois ae aumng en due uaed Riis ba apahely aed a eae BAe 46, 64, 101, 124
Notice of hearing of claims and petitions......... 63, 70, 46, 85, 88, 98, 119, 120
- Notice of letting of contracts................ 0.000005 47, 64, 72, 89, 101, 124
POURON TOPANGA ils ccnccc.: dns oor ca wale fo ween: 43, 62, 69, 84, 112, 115, 118
preliminary expenses’ *....... eee ae 54, 80, 106, 108
repairing, Cleaning, inspecting Grainss sc iasecaw us 42, 49, 51, 65, 73, 80, 93, 124
right of way, drain crossing Of................45. 44, 46, 50, 64. 70, 75, 88, 123
supervision of drainage districts................00.0005 76, 79, 80, 85, 90, 91, 92

Letter of Transmittal. 2.0.00... eee eens

Reve ere Wei eet et ec ae Geneon one are 3
   
  
  
  
    
 
 

 

M
peiee ns Page
Michigan Drainage Law, The. «5 2jiceos esque pays evaeeey ed AEteed oan baud 43-50
constitutionality of...........0.00 000000 ccc cece ee eee lee lll, 43
GONCLONCIOSHOR 3. oiomavnin dein eilguuehinnaN EAR ote FE aedioen oad Hodimene 28, 51, 58
definition of drains under.............. eh nes aS pasa & re 43
Drain Commissioner, executive officer of... 0.00.) 43
operation of, diagram.............. 0.00.00 0 cee eee ee ee er ee 45
procedure under, in establishing a drain........0.............000000, 43
SCCUTING TIPME LOL WAY 4 4 stews tna, usages aye cse's dopo. wsh a avis w bdo wi beaheaoe = atiniok oma 44, 46, 50
provisions of for assessments and taxes...........0. 00.00 ccc eevee eae 46, 48
HOarings Of CLAIMS. ace ces be ku dAG i OaK DS ey SEES eae Onn s 46
letting of contract... 0... ee eee eee 46
IBEOY-COUNLY GEAINS 6 bon ccc ich ede wa Raa AW De OEE MAAN aed EE OO 50
petitions for drains... 0.0. kc eee ebb tenes 43
' DUT OSORO 8s iS tcnnctsipe gt 3 Ne hee te sac ube hh ae catrra ese MUON ce a a ete ha A ey 43
Minnesota, Drainage Board planin................. 0.0.0.0 57
Missouri Drainage Law.............0. 000.0000 0s cscs tell lee leer, 83-96
Missouri Drainage Law, provisions of, relating to
Articles of Association... 000.0000. cece cence cette eects
ASSESSMENTS 365.6 ep FERRELL E SARA TES Gade ey eS ends eval
Board of supervisors.......... Bb fatter calasea cafes sr Shamed icin seve Seren eatin reteas hoa Ne 90
DONG TSSUO 54 4 fst Teac geh ae otra lertvah Have spade, Weal nceens
bridges, construction of... 0.000... 0. ee cee een eee neee
COMMISSIONOTS, CUTLER. BOC, O86. ce nn th eig 4G 8d SRO M WRAL KERR EEE
Contracts for ATAINS. ws peu esos se aondonsss aa wine A GER eNe Dg WHE Obes ale
drainage district. vehi. cai ay eeuse ns earteraga Ado dent's Find gd Mbaaialgte sink
CNGIDOR es tics eae eewe eg kuw ey i werebue aes ook qaae 4 aenaaraes, 5 4 malted Bink
hearings on claims and objections
«, Maintenance, tax lewy 16. ois cae a es 88 G4 AY ELMER E Ee EELS EO eR GeO be

notice of report of conimissioners
overseer, appointment and duties

   

    
   
 

. Plan of Reclamation. ....... 0.0.0... n ens
PPEMMINALY EXPANSES odd oc 44 bewes in ees oa cw Semewd bead EER AER SD
reorganizing GIStTict.... 2. eee a ede debe ee bedaadas
right of way, securing Of...... 0.00.0... c cc cece eee een eens
supervisor of drainage district
TARCS, CONGO ON OF. ccc. ve ee ewe heb Aw A al ae
voter, definition Of fic... oceege 4 we euet ee ees ana

N
Northern Peninsula, altitude, variation of.............. a 13
classification of soils in...... 14
surface slopes, average of 14
swamp lands in, table of............. 20
temperature Of.......... 0... c ee eee aie 13
topography of....... 13
2 WO: LAN GS Of es. «sists sie: a siseizo dis a ap tonsa uanailel's we aadaarelie apetoue a Llniersce 19
‘Notice of Letting Drain Contract,”’ in Michigan 47
‘Notice of Letting,’’ yardage to be published in........... NNR RMN Sa Ken 39
oO
Ohio Conservancy ACt ais 626 cccseons, os Soe PTA w uae ROE gd gad incanew sates & pHs 97-114
Ohio Conservancy Act, provisions of relating to

annual report...........0.. 0.00000 Wonca 20 baa Way anecieh Ad) Hon isidencena ee aecdoa chil 112
APPLASAl: OF DONEH G8 2% 4 secur east co Hoo She ensdbsinnal etn Oielbac ob alceal eu enti nie oth Sabad.seeuh 104, 105
Appraisal Records: ccsa ciciwens ees 44a pre eee Aa Tae. nua ate Ek See 105
ASSCHSIRONGS Ss. ¥.c acavtdcn nk. Reartiinds aa -lerith wee a Rave wea RANE Te Aen WOE ce BERET 107, 109, 110
bond. fund ANG ASSUCS) ., 4.4 cgeus ssh gg morn aenmyoaN de Ase yaa esr ds adeedauinaea es o-AGre w 106, 111
Board of Directors, appointment, duties and powers............. Fa aici 99-100
bridges and grades......... Ment hiaths heguee ys ALOR RGSS RARER ELDER Se 102
condemnation proceedings. ......... 0... cece eee eee eens 101
contracts, letting of................. BR ecrighung ty Ghd sacarcg Wa a vaperanenera een Reb osts 101
drainage district, establishment of....... ...-97, 99, 112, 113
dominant right of eminent domain. .... 2... 6... ee eee 101
Anancial administration «i605 ssccco cacae swe ee Rae G ROR RE REE 106
hearings On Petitions « 465. ecacns conn daw aw eae Oe a RTA R Oe Mem Ra ae 98, 111

maintenance fund... :

ree eae eS .107, 111, 112
maintenance tax, readjustment of Agee 111

petitions for drainage district............ ‘ 97
PROUT ITALY: HUT eee ps0 i coco sch et ecteaansn dh pe iad a iatataas alin Bderacsociana Roa heeligs OD SB 106
DLOCECHON “WORKS: 51; acgs-44 ek Fake 86 BAR leila Aa dundolel teas Wnleldd Sng auenaeinge b-eeube 102
SUbGIStrICHS . bce pu esate sake a ME OH LEAR E RET Ras WE BE TARE 112
surveys and investigations. .......0 0.0.0.0. cb eee eee 102
water powers, regulation Of.......... 0... 0c ccc eee 103
Olitlets for drains: 22 coupe ead As 42 GOPENL LEG So MeRR AON SEE Ee ems eS Oe 37
GESIENS £OP  iiicsa cca SSR EA SSeS EOERS EES BRO RRS edepa as 28
in muck and clay.......... Fs Seeva-s Sctdpharetat ato Dr ae ONE Le Sects Ge Ge sae SOS NEON 38
through rock ledge......... sjsu hor hasta thas Placs eviovicia canecugatae nals See De cedad eddeg a tks nt 38
through sandy rid@e. wick cdo a ewe ee wd Red OHNE OREN GAA REESE 37
Overhead expense, percentage Of....... 0.0... cette ene 26, 27
P
Petitions for drains, Michigan law on........... 0.00. c eee ee eee 43

Plans of Reclamation, Missouri Law........... 0.0... cece eee eee 86
 

 
   

  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

 

  
 
   

132 INDEX. ‘
Preliminary expenses Page
how paid, Ohio Law............ 0.6 - cect teens 7 108
no provisions for Michigan 54
Q
Questionnaire sent to township supervisors .......... 0.00000 e eee eee eee 16
R
Rainfall in Northern Peninsula..............00 000 c eee ce te tenes 30
in Southern Peninsula ss cc.cc6 0424550995 65G64 2H HEW has PEN hes ee aes 30
consideration of in planning ane Sgt Muah ship degassed Sie RE ES Rae tobe ede w 31
table No. 8, amount 1902-1917 ; . 30
Rains, character of in Michigan 30
Reclaimable wet lands, Southern Peninsula : 15
character of soil Of........... 0... c vec ce ccc ce cece ene teeeeteeneeee ae 18
drainage expenditures in; <2. cucccuriacaa ere ee eee Ea Fae Gaerne ud 18
north of 2d Correction Line, Table of.............. 0.0 0c eee eee 17, 19
south of 2d Correction Line, Table of............. 0.00.00 eee eee 15
Run-off, C. G. Elliott formula for determining..............0. 0.0.00 e eee eee 32
disposal of, quantity of determined ..... Fey yan ehigus, Ho Na) ease eRe Reon a ee 30
from Michigan watersheds, Table of No. 9........0.. 0.000 eee e eee - 32
8s
Saginaw River, a complex drainage problem..............---.0 eset cree ee eee 58
Sand bars, prevention of in ditches..........0.0. 0.0. c cee teens 33
Sand bottom swamp land, drainage of to be followed vs specialized intensive os
RD TMVATA Gstaad couse eves bari adie led che est loose vi ase ybeandelaaviciees tn aan ds weche tte ys AahendapeaeedRe- OS
Schneider, C. F iene 13
Soil, effect of on run-off 31
Soil types, drain spacing in............. 0.0... cee eee eee s; 31
Soils of Michigan, classification of...01 2.101.112 2 220011! : pte 14
clayey and sandy till, percentage of... . 14
rocky knobs and ridges, percentage of... aie 14
sandy and gravelly, percentage of...... fe 14
swamp and lake, percentage of.................... 14
Southern Peninsula
classification of soils in................ 14
reclaimable wet lands of. 15
surface slopes, average of 14
temperature of. 13
topography of. ; 13
Special drain commissioner...._................+..+..2.s sess elle : 46
Spoil batiks, Wwlisation OF... cc cheesey eee sd week nm nce do eon es és 38
Staking of ditches, uniform method of, law on 1915..............000200020-- 38
State Department of Drainage, necessity for... ...... 0.0.0.0 c cee eee 58
OD OSC code Gh cuceney ele tase mer eae on Beni eg OR ate ds este ud eee PR AS, See RC Ee Ws astro 59
State Highway Commissioner, duties of in establishing drains in Michigan... .41, 50, 51
Summary wet lands of Michigan Efe sth dict deidtige Btisfan's dete Giethntc cet teeees el act Balas Gisanee @ Banat 20
Swamp lands, area of in Michigan......... 0.000... 15
Swamp Lands of Northern Peninsula, area of, table............ 0.0... 000000. 20
drainage expenditures in......... 0.0.0.0. ccc ee eee teen eee 20
operations in.................0...0-. Paien's ghUM eRe yas Ee ee sla aQens 20
percentage: anea-Of% ¢ sss ghee ap nator wnas dae ndene seen ADA ORE Ga meer 20
T
Table No. 1, Reclaimable area estimated, south of 2d Correction Line........ 18
No. 2, Reclaimable area estimated north of 2d Correction Line........ 19
No. 38, Swamp lands in Northern Peninsula............... Suspetes RtadisAadats 20
No. 4, Early expenditures on County Drains......................-. 21
No. 5, Annual expenditures Michigan aren 1898-1917............... x Za
No. 6, Data Michigan drains 1913-1917...........0 0.0000 cu eceeeues 24
No. 7, Summarized Analyses County Drain expenditures, 1913-17...... 26
No. 8, Rainfall in Michigan 1902-1917............. 2.0... .0. 00. ccc 30
No. 9, Run-off from Michigan watersheds..................0 0000000 32
No. 10, Capacities of open ditches............... 0.000. c cee eee ee 34
No. 11, Depths of water in ditches............0 2.000. .0 ccc eee eee 34
No. 12, Area drained by tile outlet. ... 2.2.0.0. 00. eee 41
Taxes, drainage, Michigan Law on............ 0.00000 e eee en eee 48
Temperature of Northern Peninsula...............0 0.00000 c cece cee eee 13
or Souter Poems os jc 684666 aha minede se been ee AAA wean s 13
Tilesdrain, Bd Vanta@e OF 5 65.5.5 3 gesaienaaravedien w Hoi Si ww lp are wadcanmund 9 La See Ble ba aes 39, 40
ForCOUNty: WORK <9) sea scisiese iss acai sid P une MAT te avai Wack & HACE te ener ene 39
increase in number of 1918-1917........ 20.0.0... 00 0e cece ee eee 39
to replace open ditches. . 1.0.0.0... 0... cee cece ee eee = 42
Tile foie drain, size limit of.......... 0.0... 0.0.0 .00 05 Cpe eases . 40
GOD laid sis sivnccineaaie yin n aaawern x 40
Timbered land to be reclaimed................ . 56
Topographic unit of drainage control. 58
Topography of Northern Peninsula. . 13
Southern Peninsula....... 13
surface slopes, variation of...... 14
Town Drain Law of Wisconsin. ...............00 eee 115

 
INDEX. 133

 

U
Page
U.S. Land Office, 2d Correction line, reclaimable wet lands and drainage
3 expenditures in counties north of. . 2.2... ee eee 17, 19, 20
U.S. Land Office, 2d Correction line, reclaimable wet lands and SPnineee
expenditures in counties south of. 2.2.0.0... 0. cee 17, 18, 20
Vv
Value of lands, increase in when drained............... os. See Sipe tise aR einai ae 17
Ww
Watershed, consideration of in dis pasa of run-off and planning drainage....... 30
design of open drains for. 3.5 .c¢asckee eee ease ewes sa RemealR ened 35
eect. Of ON TUN-Off cco 1h hs Ohh SARA S See ee eG GSS 31
size, shape and surface pees of 31
Wayne County. drainage in 1859-97... 0... 21
Wet lands, of Northern Peninstila. ....0. 6450544 agen eee tae em eet em one bas 19
reclaimable in Southern Peninsula. .......... 0.0.00 c eee eee 15
north of 2d Correction Line... 0... 0.0... ee Ve LO
south of 2d Correction Line....................-.. Fo ates uaa ae 18
of Michigan, sumMmary’s.: <6 cecccc cee y ea seal ee eae a 20
Wisconsin Drainaeeslaw' isan anenagary 4 alata y Aalalsnc as quale vneie ata ale neniats Baws 115, 126
Wisconsin Drainage Prewrich I Law, ‘peovislons 4 of, Relating to

   

bond issues
commissioners, appointment, duties of.
contracts, letting of.................. ee
drainage district, establishment of............. 0.2.0 c eee eee eee

rights an@ powers of
engineer, employment Of... 22.2... ee eee ee
enlarging district... cccies se cae ere sear ma ele nag ee ees og EG ewe Ba
ONlargiNS Gras « 6. digs een a's 4 vacqiemnw aa Weegieeene a ioe aad wile deh acisnsesmemins aha

assessments. . 5 « 125

 

hearings against commissioner's report..........-.0.0.0200 02 eee eee 121
notice of hearing on petition... .. 0.2.2.2... ec ee 119, 120
petition for establishment of district..........-.. 05.6.0. 0 eee ee eee 118
purchase Of MAchiNEry.« « :5555.5 Gade CR RS TS oe ORR E RE EE AOR AOE 124
railway rights of way......... ats 123
report of commissioners 121
Wisconsin Town Drain Law, provisions of relating to
appeal from decision of supervisors die ch AP Rees ape shea eagh eaauneriy Daan raiaoe 117
application for drain.......... 00. ....-.-00005 San val 115

assessments. ................0005
city lands, drainage OF 2a... soscei aii s sosiscti sears Sareea eens
highway, drain crossing of

 

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permit to survey radeeincd TANS) cues ey shee s oem MEDS et REE 118
railway right of way, drain crossing of................2.---5--055 117
supervisors duties of in drainage matters. ...............0.0000055 116, 117

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