Supervisors approve improvement for Drainage District 6 after engineer cites silted main tile and $52,000 repair estimate

The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors voted to proceed with an improvement project for Drainage District 6 (DD6) after the county engineer said the districts 12-inch main tile is largely buried under silt and the outlet structure is damaged. The board moved and approved the improvement at a public hearing on March 17.

The county engineer told supervisors and landowners the immediate repair to clean out silt, stabilize a damaged tile outlet and fix an erosion problem would cost about $52,000, or roughly $18.34 per acre across the districts roughly 2,835 acres. He said an optional "improvement" lowering the grade in the northernmost reach by about a foot would add roughly $15,000 to $20,000 to accommodate a potential future main-tile replacement and would extend the work about a half-mile farther south.

Board members asked technical questions about outlet protection. The engineer recommended rip-rap (rock lining) around a corrugated metal outlet pipe rather than a bulkhead, citing lower cost and adequate long-term performance. He said the rip-rap would reduce erosion where surface runoff presently cuts over the bank and fills the ditch with silt.

Several landowners provided input, and the board noted that assessments vary by parcel size and location; small, in-town quarter-acre lots would see a far smaller share of the per-acre assessment than large rural parcels. The engineer said parcels assessed more than $500 can elect to pay over several years under the district payment rules.

Mr. Clark moved to proceed with the improvement and the motion was seconded. A roll-call vote recorded all supervisors voting in favor and the motion carried.

What happens next: staff will prepare plans and specifications and solicit competitive quotes (the engineer said the project is below the formal bid threshold and can be handled by local contractors). The county plans to execute repairs and perform the work this summer, weather permitting.

Costs, assessments and scope are subject to later refinement as final plans and contractor quotes are obtained.

Quote from the hearing: "I've got a total cost estimate of $52,000," the county engineer said, explaining that the additional deepening would add about $15,000 to $20,000 for material handling and the extra half-mile of channel work.

The board closed the public hearing and moved on to other business.

The boards decision is limited to the county-managed improvement and assessment process; any future separate main-tile replacement would require its own petition, engineering, and likely a separate assessment schedule.