Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Stormwater Drainage Right Of Way topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wallsburg council weighs who must maintain ditches, schedules meeting with state water agency
Summary
Councilors discussed repeated road and ditch washouts, four problem areas where fill and removed culverts are worsening spring flooding risks, and a planned meeting with a Department of Water Quality contact to pursue grant funding for engineering and repairs.
Wallsburg Town Council members discussed a string of drainage and right-of-way problems at their Sept. 5 meeting, including washed-out culverts, property owners filling historic ditches and uncertainty over who must pay to restore drainage ahead of next spring.
The discussion centered on four recurring trouble spots councilors said have worsened after residents or contractors brought in fill or removed culverts, and on the legal and administrative steps the town must take before using state grant money for repairs.
Why it matters: Council members said the town risks repeated spring flooding and escalating repair costs unless the town clarifies maintenance responsibility, enforces right-of-way rules and secures engineering funds. Councilors said the town has a meeting scheduled next Thursday with Nancy O'Toole and a representative from the Department of Water Quality to ask about grants that could pay for engineering and repairs.
Council members described several specific problems: culverts removed or covered when property owners filled ditches, sections of road that have become soft and “squishy,” and a historic ditch system that once gathered town runoff but has in places been filled or piped over during pressurized irrigation conversions. During the meeting members said at least four locations are generating calls to the town and that the town’s 66-foot road right-of-way complicates where town crews may lawfully work.
Councilors debated enforcement and long-term code changes. One council member said the town must decide whether to enforce removal of encroachments such as fences or rock walls in the right-of-way and whether to require permits for moving earth in or near the right-of-way. Others said planning commission review and new development-code language are needed before the town can consistently require property owners to restore filled ditches.
Next steps and constraints: Councilors agreed to pursue grant funding and to clarify internal policy. They emphasized the immediate priority is the four problem areas that are likely to worsen in wet weather. The council said it will press the Department of Water Quality contact on whether emergency storm-water funds would cover culverts and asphalt and what matching funds the town must provide.
No formal votes were taken on enforcement changes at the Sept. 5 meeting. Councilors directed staff to report back after the scheduled meeting with state representatives and to prepare proposed language for the development code and fee schedule to address right-of-way encroachments and permitting.
The town will revisit the item at future meetings once grant eligibility and proposed code language are clearer.
