O'Brien County Drainage District Project Explained Part I

By Loren G. Flaugh

Engineer Richard Hopper with Jacobson-Westergard & Associates, Inc. presented his summation for a likely Drainage District (DD) #5 cleanout repair to the O'Brien County Board of Supervisors at their Oct. 4 meeting. Hopper's conclusions were in the DD #5 Preliminary Engineering Report he'd compiled after his firm's engineering study that looked into the badly deteriorated and aging DD #5 located in rural north central O'Brien County.

Jacobson-Westergard is a Consulting Engineering & Land Surveying firm located in Estherville. This likely drainage district cleanout project is fraught with uncertainty due to intimidating and complex factors that could turn the potentially costly drainage district cleanout into a nightmare for county officials. Involuntary annexation of more landowners into an expanded DD #5 is just one risk.

“Drainage is a big deal. It is! It's spendy, but you've got to have it,” said Hopper, a few minutes later.

“There's a lot to deal with here. There are a lot of different things going on with this DD #5 project,” Hopper added. Even the City of Melvin could get drawn into this matter.

County Boards of Supervisors are legally considered as trustees for each DD and informally as the owner of the district. Therefore, it's their duty to plan for and initiate drainage district cleanout, repair and improvement projects. At an August 15, 2015 Board meeting, Hopper was formally authorized to perform the engineering study of DD #5 to determine what was needed to bring the open drainage ditch back to its original condition and capacity.

Hopper's report map shows that the southern outlet for DD #5 is northwest of Hartley where the open ditch drains into the larger Waterman Creek that flows into the Little Sioux River near Sutherland. DD #5, as it was originally created, drains 3,371 acres of farmland in large parts of 6 sections. The northern boundary of DD #5 is 3 miles north of the outlet, or 1 mile south of the O'Brien/Osceola County line.

Extending north from the DD #5 limit is a waterway and a 922 acre area that crosses into Osceola County. A half mile north of the county line, the waterway butts up against DD #8 that becomes the outlet for that Osceola County DD. This 922 acre area could be subjected to involuntary annexation and incorporated into an expanded DD #5.

Extending west and northwest from the DD #5 limit is another waterway that drains large parts of farmland in 6 more sections of northern O'Brien County and 7 sections in southern Osceola County including most of Melvin. This heavily tiled 7,119 acre watershed could also be subjected to involuntary annexation into an expanded DD #5.

Early on, Hopper realized his need to seek documentation dating back to when DD #5 was created. Hopper was primarily seeking drawings that would show cross-section dimensions, the steepness of the open ditch's slopes, the width at the bottom and the depth. Hopper led off his report to the Board by addressing the extreme lack of old records at the auditor and recorder's offices.

“We went into this project first seeking old records and there are not a lot available. As near as we can tell, I think DD #5 was established in 1921, plus or minus a year,” said Hopper. “Drainage districts in other parts of the state were established around this time.”

Pointing to the large 7,119-acre area to the west, Hopper explained that landowners in that area have a very tough time seeing their excess water get into DD #5.

“Now, because we didn't find much for records,” Hopper continued, “we took some time and tried to develop a plan showing what we think would've been the original ditch construction. We checked for the original hard bottom from 95 years ago as we went along. We calculated that by using a 2-inch drainage coefficient and by using everything coming in from the west and north from Osceola County DD #8 because all of that must come in as well. We also time-delayed all the water getting there, otherwise, we wouldn't be giving justice to what the actual size of that ditch would've originally been.

“After doing all that, we prepared a plan sheet that actually shows a bottom slope. Starting at the upper end of DD #5, we determined the ditch had a 6' wide bottom and two long side slopes. Often ditches were constructed with steeper side slopes and dirt would slough off over the years and then establish itself. The 6' wide bottom is appropriate here because the south end outlet for DD # 8 further north also has a 6' wide bottom.

“From DD #5's upper end and going downstream, the bottom width varies. After 1,100 lineal feet, the ditch bottom width goes out to 10' wide and then 12' wide. We determined that the lower 6950 feet of DD #5 should have a 14' wide bottom. We had to establish that so we could determine how much dirt there was in the ditch after 95 years and use the cross-section to compare what is in there now to what should have been. The result is that there is now 29,200 cubic yards of dirt now in the ditch.”

Using that 29, 200 cubic yard figure, Hopper calculated a cost estimate for restoring DD #5 to its original capacity. Hopper even included the costs for possibly annexing more landowners into an expanded DD #5.

Hopper came up with an estimated cost of $116,800 for removing just the dirt that had accumulated after 95 years. He calculated that removing the dirt at $4 per cubic yard.

Hopper discovered 8 existing farm tile outlets enter the ditch in DD #5. The estimated cost to locate the 8 tile outlets and repair them came to $9,600.

He said that one field crossing where an 84-ich diameter pipe was installed years ago needed to be removed and replaced because it was too high. The estimated cost for lowering the 84-inch diameter pipe a foot came to $5,000.

Hopper estimated that seeding and fertilizing the 3 miles of new open ditch came to $8,000. His estimated subtotal for construction costs only came to $139,400. When he added a 10% cost for any contingencies, which added another $13,940. Costs for engineering, legal work and publishing official notices added another $24,500 bringing the estimated total DD cost to $194,840.

When Hopper added $7,500 for possible annexation and $18,000 for reclassifying that additional farmland drained by the waterway, this brought the total estimated cost to $220,340.

If annexation does not happen, the per acre cost to restore DD #5 only is $57.80. That's the cost that would be assessed to landowners. If annexation does result and the number of acres in DD #5 expands to 10,490, then the per acre costs falls dramatically to $21.00 that's assessed to landowners.

Hopper then recommended that, “What you need to do with this is accept this report and then set a hearing date. There's no decision required today as far as what to proceed with other than we'd like you to go forward with the annexation.”

A lengthy discussion and Q & A session ensued. Supervisor Jim DeBoom offered a motion to accept the report and set Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 10 a.m. for a hearing. Supervisor Tom Farnsworth seconded the motion and the resolution was subsequently approved.

Part II of this story will discuss the many complex issues surrounding the DD #5 repair, particularly the contentious issue on involuntary annexation of additional landowners and even the potential involuntary annexation of land in an adjoining county.

“Do landowners have any say in the repair of a drainage district?” supervisor DeBoom asked.

“No,” replied Hopper. “They do have a lot of say if this were a drainage district improvement project.”

This article was first printed in the Cherokee Chronicle Times. CLICK HERE to read the article on their website.