Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Control Structure Eckert topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
La Porte County board orders repair, inspection and clean-up after repeated washouts at Eckert Ditch control structure
Summary
An emergency hearing addressed a repeatedly failing control structure on the Eckert Ditch after downstream property owners complained of silt and dumping; the board authorized repairs, inspection by staff, removal/hauling of spoils from the easement and reseeding if necessary, and required the structure owner to obtain board approval before future changes.
The La Porte County Drainage Board held an emergency hearing after a control structure on the Eckert Ditch washed out again, prompting competing claims from adjacent landowners and a multi-point response from the board.
Greg Warner and Otto Warner, owners of land adjacent to the structure, said the control structure had been approved in 2010 but that neighbors had not been notified; they complained that attempts to plug the washed structure with dumped dirt were creating downstream silt and harming adjacent farms. Warner asked the board to re-engineer or reinstall the structure because prior repairs had not held.
Richard (Rick) Hutton, who uses the structure to manage irrigation, told the board he had been raising the water level seasonally and that the structure had been in use during June–August. Hutton described emergency field repairs (packing clay, adding boards) and said he was trying to avoid permanent fixes that might make future repairs more difficult. Hutton said he would consult designer Matt Wells and preferred piling or other methods to stabilize the structure rather than dumping concrete.
After extensive discussion, the board declared the matter an emergency and made a series of motions: to allow the owner to repair the structure so long as repairs were coordinated with staff; to stop routine use of the structure for the remainder of the season unless the board agreed; to clean the ditch from the structure down to the T-bridle (and potentially further) to remove accumulated sand and spoil and to haul that material off the easement as needed; and to require post-work inspection by drainage staff (John South) and a report back to the board. The motions passed by voice vote.
The board also directed that if the structure owner performs repairs or if work by a property owner is undertaken, the work will be inspected by staff and must meet the board's standards; if the board determines reseeding of filter strips is necessary, the owner will be required to restore them.
Board counsel clarified that repairs restoring the structure to its prior condition probably do not require a new board hearing, but larger improvements or changes would. The board emphasized that recurring failures, sediment transport, and cross-boundary impacts require a stable repair solution and closer oversight.
No binding cost allocation was decided at the meeting; board members requested that owners and staff coordinate on a repair plan and that staff report back with bids and a recommended approach.
