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Auburn property owner urges county to replace 600 feet of failed tile after repeated blowouts; board asks staff for price
Summary
At the Aug. 21 DeKalb County Drainage Board meeting landowner Brent Shaw described repeated blowouts on a drain near County Road 49 that have damaged property and endangered children; the board directed staff to price a roughly 600-foot replacement and return with estimates.
Brent Shaw, a property owner in DeKalb County, told the DeKalb County Drainage Board on Aug. 21 that repeated blowouts in a clay tile drain near County Road 49 have made crossings dangerous and damaged equipment, and he asked the board to consider extending tile about 600 feet from the swamp to the road to prevent future failures.
Shaw described three blowouts in recent years and said one collapse swallowed a Polaris off a farm track. He said children in his family use the crossing and he is concerned for their safety; he urged the county to replace the clay tile with plastic pipe and extend the line about 600 feet to stabilize the area.
Surveyor's office staff and board members discussed technical options and funding paths. Staff said the system dates to the late 1800s in places and that the tile has settled and in some spots runs near the surface. Possible remedies discussed included replacing the 600 feet of tile on maintenance, reconstructing a longer reach to the open ditch, installing stand-up riser pipes to relieve head pressure from northern laterals, or re-routing the lower end to the east side of County Road 49 to avoid repeated road crossings and a gas pipeline.
Cost estimates discussed in the meeting were preliminary: staff referenced per-foot reconstruction rates and a chart that suggested a ballpark cost for a 12-inch replacement on the order of $12,000–$16,000 for roughly 600 feet, depending on depth, materials and whether reconstruction requires additional work (stone, pipeline coordination). Staff also said the CO Metcalfe maintenance account holds funds and that approximately $12,000 was available for this scale of work.
Board members asked staff to obtain a formal price and return with figures and options. "My recommendation would be to get a price on it and see what it actually looks like and then bring it back," a staff member told the board, and the board directed staff to prepare estimates and report back (staff and board used the next scheduled meeting or an interim briefing to follow up). No formal reconstruction order or assessment was adopted at the meeting; board members discussed whether the work could be done on maintenance funds or would require a reconstruction hearing and potential assessments.
The public-comment exchange included discussion of wetlands and hydraulic head in the swamp that complicate tying northern laterals into a reworked lower end. Staff noted that changing tile location, size or grade would likely trigger a reconstruction process and possibly a public hearing; the board agreed to price the limited replacement and consider the funding/administrative path once costs were available.
