Farmer asks Humboldt County to start petition for tile main replacement after repeated washouts

A tenant farming the Archer property in Rockland told the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on March 24 that repeated washouts on an aging subsurface tile main have made organic farming difficult and urged the board to begin the petition process to replace the line.

Mark Lehi, who identified himself as a tenant for MJF Farms, described multiple washouts along a main that he said may include legacy tile installed in the early 1900s and later a relief main. The speaker said the tile network is causing recurring failures, described uncertainty about whether older mains cross and reconnect, and said the instability was preventing pattern-tile installation this spring.

Why it matters: Landowners and tenants use pattern tile drainage to manage wet fields; repeated tile failures reduce farm productivity and can require large repairs. County involvement through a formally engineered, recorded project typically clarifies assessments, maintenance responsibility and long-term repair obligations.

What was said and next steps

County staff told Lehi that the correct first step is obtaining a signed petition from affected property owners. Staff outlined a typical process: gather signatures, hold an informal hearing with neighbors to gauge support, and only if there is sufficient backing proceed to engineering and formal project steps. Staff emphasized that a county-led project records the improvement and sets a neutral basis for future assessments and maintenance, which can reduce disputes down the road.

Lehi said the group would seek signatures, and county staff said they would help verify the ownership and assessment extents and run an informal neighborhood hearing if petitioners demonstrate local support. Staff also said an engineered project would determine the extent of replacement — the engineer would recommend the replacement length necessary to address drainage — and that costs and the need to cross a gravel road to pick up additional acreage would be evaluated.

Board response and context

Supervisors responded that a county project is often preferable to private, unrecorded repairs because county projects are recorded and reduce future ambiguity about who benefits and who pays for maintenance. Staff advised petitioners to seek signatures from the larger landowners in the affected drainage area to strengthen the petition. One county staffer noted an earlier repair strategy (temporary fixes) and encouraged moving the project forward this fall if petitioners can gather support.

Provenance: The petition request and staff guidance were recorded during the drainage portion of the meeting beginning when the board moved into the drainage segment; the petition recommendation and staff explanation appear in the meeting transcript covering the public comments by Mark Lehi and staff responses.

Ending: The petitioners said they hoped to tile this fall and asked the county to move quickly; staff said they would run the petition and informal-hearing process as soon as signatures and landowner support are presented.