1.When any levee or drainage district has been established and the improvement
constructed, the improvement shall be at all times under the supervision of the board of
supervisors except as otherwise provided for control and management by a board of trustees
and the board shall keep the improvement in repair as provided in this section.
a.The board at any time on its own motion, without notice, may order done whatever is
necessary to restore or maintain a drainage or levee improvement in its original efficiency
or capacity, and for that purpose may remove silt and debris, repair any damaged structures,
remove weeds and other vegetable growth, and whatever else may be needed to restore or
maintain such efficiency or capacity or to prolong its useful life.
b.The board may at any time obta
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1. When any levee or drainage district has been established and the improvement
constructed, the improvement shall be at all times under the supervision of the board of
supervisors except as otherwise provided for control and management by a board of trustees
and the board shall keep the improvement in repair as provided in this section.
a. The board at any time on its own motion, without notice, may order done whatever is
necessary to restore or maintain a drainage or levee improvement in its original efficiency
or capacity, and for that purpose may remove silt and debris, repair any damaged structures,
remove weeds and other vegetable growth, and whatever else may be needed to restore or
maintain such efficiency or capacity or to prolong its useful life.
b. The board may at any time obtain an engineer’s report regarding the most feasible
means of repairing a drainage or levee improvement and the probable cost of making the
repair. If the engineer advises, or the board otherwise concludes that permanent restoration
ofadamagedstructureisnotfeasibleatthetime,theboardmayordertemporaryconstruction
it deems necessary to the continued functioning of the improvement. If in maintaining and
repairingtilelinestheboardfindsfromanengineer’sreportitismoreeconomicaltoconstruct
a new line than to repair the existing line, the new line may be considered to be a repair.
c. If the estimated cost of the repair does not exceed fifty thousand dollars, the board may
order the work done without conducting a hearing on the matter. Otherwise, the board shall
set a date for a hearing and provide notice of the hearing to landowners in the district by
publication in the same manner as provided in section 468.15. However, if the estimated cost
of the repair exceeds the adjusted competitive bid threshold, the board shall provide notice
to the landowners pursuant to sections 468.14 through 468.18. The board shall not divide a
proposedrepairintoseparateprogramsinordertoavoidthenoticeandhearingrequirements
of this paragraph.
d. Notwithstanding paragraph “b”, if the estimated cost of the repair exceeds fifty
thousand dollars or the adjusted competitive bid threshold, whichever is more, the board
shall order an engineer’s report or a report from the soil and water conservation district
conservationist regarding the matter which shall be presented at the hearing provided
in paragraph “c”. The board may waive the report requirement if a prior report on the
repair exists and that report is less than ten years old. At the hearing, the board shall hear
objections to the feasibility of making the proposed repair.
e. Following a hearing, if required in paragraph “c”, the board shall determine whether
the repair is necessary or desirable, and feasible.
f. Any interested party has the right of appeal from such orders in the manner provided
in this subchapter, parts 1 through 5.
g. The right of remonstrance does not apply to a repair as provided in this section.
2. In the case of a repair, or the eradication of brush or weeds along the open ditches, not
in excess of the adjusted competitive bid threshold, where the board finds that a saving to the
district will result, the board may cause the repairs or eradication to be done by secondary
road fund equipment, or weed fund equipment, and labor of the county and then reimburse
thesecondaryroadfundortheweedfundfromthefundofthedrainagedistrictthusbenefited.
3. Whentheboarddeemsitnecessaryitmayrepairorreconstructtheoutletofanyprivate
tile line which empties into a drainage ditch of any district and assess the costs in each case
against the land served by the private tile line.
4. a. For the purpose of this subsection, an “improvement” in a drainage or levee district
in which any ditch, tile drain, or other facility has previously been constructed is a project
intended to expand, enlarge, or otherwise increase the capacity of any existing ditch, drain,
or other facility above that for which it was designed.
b. When the board determines that an improvement is necessary or desirable, and
feasible, the board shall appoint an engineer to make surveys as seem appropriate to
determine the nature and extent of the improvement, and to file a report showing what
improvement is recommended and its estimated cost, which report may be amended before
final action.
c. If the estimated cost of the improvement does not exceed fifty thousand dollars, the
board may order the work done without conducting a hearing on the matter. Otherwise, the
board shall set a date for a hearing on whether to construct the proposed improvement and
whether there shall be a reclassification of benefits for the cost of the proposed improvement.
(1) (a) The board shall provide notice to landowners in the district by publication in
the same manner as provided in section 468.15. However, if the estimated cost of the
improvement exceeds the adjusted competitive bid threshold, the board shall provide notice
to the landowners pursuant to sections 468.14 through 468.18.
(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph division (a), and in lieu of publishing the notice, the
board may mail a copy of the notice to each address where a landowner within the district
resides by first class mail if the cost of mailing is less than publication of the notice. The
mailingshallbemadeduringthetimethenoticewouldotherwiseberequiredtobepublished.
(2) The board shall not divide proposed improvements into separate programs in order to
avoid compliance with this paragraph “c”.
d. At the hearing, if required in paragraph “c”, the board shall hear objections to the
feasibility of the proposed improvements and arguments for or against a reclassification
presented by or for any taxpayer of the district. Following the hearing, the board shall
order that the improvement it deems necessary or desirable and feasible be made and shall
also determine whether there should be a reclassification of benefits for the cost of the
improvement. If it is determined that a reclassification of benefits should be made, the board
shall proceed as provided in section 468.38.
e. If the estimated cost of the improvement exceeds the adjusted competitive bid
threshold, or the original cost of the district plus the cost of subsequent improvements in the
district, whichever amount is greater, a majority of the landowners, owning in the aggregate
more than seventy percent of the total land in the district, may file a written remonstrance
against the proposed improvement, at or before the date set for hearing on the proposed
improvement as provided in paragraph “c”, with the county auditor, or auditors in case
the district extends into more than one county. If a remonstrance is filed, the board shall
discontinue and dismiss all further proceedings on the proposed improvements and charge
the costs incurred to date for the proposed improvements to the district. Any interested
party may appeal from such orders in the manner provided in this subchapter, parts 1
through 5. However, this section does not affect the procedures of section 468.132 covering
the common outlet.
5. Where under the laws in force prior to 1904 drainage ditches and levees were
established and constructed without fixing at the time of establishment a definite boundary
line for the body of land to be assessed for the cost thereof, the body of land which was last
assessed to pay for the repair thereof shall also be considered as the established district for
the purpose of this section.
6. The governing body of the district may, by contract or conveyance, acquire, within or
without the district, the necessary lands or easements for making repairs or improvements
under this section, including easements for borrow and easements for meander, and
in addition thereto, the same may be obtained in the manner provided in the original
establishment of the district, or by exercise of the power of eminent domain as provided for
in chapter 6B. If additional right-of-way is required for any repair or improvement under
this section, the same may be acquired in the same manner as provided for the acquisition
of right-of-way in the original establishment of a district, except that where notice and
hearing are not otherwise required under this section notice as provided in this subchapter,
parts 1 through 5, to owners, lienholder of record, and occupants of the land from which
right-of-way is to be acquired shall suffice.
7. In existing districts where the stream has by erosion appropriated lands beyond its
original right-of-way and it is more economical and feasible to acquire an easement for such
erosionandmeanderthantoundertakecontainmentofthestreaminitsexistingright-of-way,
the board may, in the discharge of the duties enjoined upon it by this section, effect such
acquisition as to the whole or part of the course. Right-of-way so taken shall be classed an
improvement for the purpose of procedure under this section.
8. Ifthedrainagerecordsonfileintheauditor’sofficeforaparticulardistrictdonotdefine
specifically the land taken for right-of-way for drainage purposes, the board may at any time
upon its own motion employ a land surveyor to make a survey and report of the district
and to actually define the right-of-way taken for drainage purposes. After the land surveyor
has filed the survey and report with the board, the board shall fix a date for hearing on the
report and shall serve notice of the hearing upon all landowners and lienholder of record and
occupants of the lands traversed by the right-of-way in the manner and for the time required
for service of original notices in the district court. At the hearing the board shall specifically
define the land taken for the right-of-way. Once established, the right-of-way constitutes a
permanenteasementinfavorofthedrainagedistrictfordrainagepurposesincludingtheright
of ingress and egress across adjoining land and the right of access for maintenance, repair,
improvement and inspection. A person aggrieved by the action or failure to act of the board
under this subsection may appeal only in compliance with sections 468.83 through 468.98.