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County Ditch FAQ
- What is a County Ditch?
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- A County Ditch is a drainage system managed by County Drainage Authority (Benton County Board of Commissioners. The county does not own the ditch. The landowners who benefit from the ditch own the drainage system. A public ditch can be an open ditch system, an underground tile system or a combination of open ditch and underground tile.
- Road ditches are not public ditches. Road ditches are the responsibility of the road authority.
- A county ditch is blocked or needs maintenance. What can be done to solve this problem?
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- The first step to solve the problem is to fill out the Benton County Maintenance Request. After the County Ditch Inspector has reviewed the problem, his/her findings will be provided to the County Engineer for project consideration and response. Please contact Adam Ritsche, County Ditch Inspector by calling 320-968-5061 or email Adam Ritsche to report a problem with a county ditch.
- Who pays for county ditch maintenance and repairs?
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- Property owners who are benefited by the ditch are the ones who pay for ditch maintenance and repairs. For county ditches, the county pays the contractor and assesses all costs back to the benefited property owners through an assessment. Benefiting property owners are not simply those who own property adjacent to the public ditch. In many cases the benefiting property owners include numerous landowners within the watershed area of the entire ditch.
- When is the "one rod" ditch buffer required on a county ditch?
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- Under the new state buffer law (effective November 1, 2017) all public ditches are required to have a "one rod" / 16.5' buffer from the top of the bank.
- State Buffer Law Webpage
- What is a ditch repair?
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- Repairs are not intended to significantly increase hydraulic efficiency or capacity of the ditch. The term "repair" means to restore all or a part of a drainage system as nearly as practicable to the same condition as originally constructed and subsequently improved.
- Repairs may also involve more extensive cleaning of the ditch bottom of silt deposits to bring the grade line and bottom width to originally constructed or subsequently improved conditions.
- What is ditch maintenance?
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- Ditch maintenance is not a full-blown repair and does not require a repair petition to be completed.
- Maintenance includes smaller activities such as
- Removal of beaver dams
- Inspections
- Mowing of buffer strips
- Tree removal
- Other smaller items
- I want to do some work in a county ditch. How do I get permission?
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- To get permission to work within a county ditch, you must first fill out an application to work within a county ditch (PDF).
- Once filled out, you can send it to the county ditch inspector by
- Mail to Adam Ritsche P.O. Box 247, Foley, MN 56329.
- Email to aritsche@co.benton.mn.us
- In person at 7752 Hwy 25 NE, Foley, MN 56329
- The county ditch inspector will work with the county engineer to review the application to ensure all proper policies and the state's drainage laws are followed.
- *Work cannot be started until the county engineer approves the application*
- I want to put in a ditch crossing. How can I get permission?
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- To get permission to put in a ditch crossing you must first fill out an application to work within a county ditch (PDF).
- Once filled out, you can send it to the county ditch inspector by
- Mail to Adam Ritsche P.O. Box 247, Foley, MN 56329.
- Email to aritsche@co.benton.mn.us
- In person at 7752 Hwy 25 NE, Foley, MN 56329
- The county ditch inspector will work with the county engineer to review the application to ensure all proper policies and the state's drainage laws are followed.
- *The field crossing cannot be constructed until the county engineer approves the application*
- Who are viewers?
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- In drainage law, viewers are a team of three disinterested people appointed by a public drainage authority to determine and report the specific monetary benefits and damages that a proposed or existing drainage system generates for all affected properties.
- The viewers, with or without the engineer, shall determine the benefits and damages to all property affected by the proposed drainage project and make a viewers' report.
- Please view Minnesota State Statute 103E.305 for more information.
- How do viewers determine benefits and damages?
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- Viewers verify and identify land parcels, roads, and other infrastructure served by a public drainage system.
- Viewers then use mass appraisal methods to determine benefits of the drainage system. A number of variables; including land use, productivity, value, drainage outlet potential, and drainage system requirements or impacts are used by the Viewers to determine system benefits and damages.
- The redetermined benefits replace those used by the county to allocate drainage system repair or maintenance assessments found on yearly tax statements.
- What is a Redetermination of Benefits?
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- Redetermination of Benefits & Damages is a process used when the drainage authority determines that the original benefits or damages determined do not reflect reasonable present-day land values or that the benefited or damaged area have changed. The amount of assessment that landowners pay is based up on benefits.
- Redetermination of Benefits Process FAQ (PDF)
- Why is a redetermination of benefits important?
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- System benefits are determined at one point in time, with no provision for inflation over time. The cost of a repair cannot exceed the total value of benefits to the drainage system on record.
- The drainage system repair fund limit is 20% of the total assessed benefits of the system, or $100,000 whichever is greater.
- There are lands draining into systems which are benefited by the system but are not being assessed for benefits.
- A petition for repair or improvement will trigger a redetermination to insure construction and maintenance costs are distributed fairly among all acres within the drainage system.
- As new private drainage outlets are added into public drainage systems, the total benefits of the system and the relative benefits to land parcels and other infrastructure changes.
- All benefiting lands will carry their fair share of the burden they place upon the drainage system.
- After redetermination, all future expenditures are allocated to the properties using the drainage system in a fair and equitable manner, by assessment on the property tax statement.
- Benefits reflect current land values.
- What is a ditch re-establishment of records?
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- Minnesota Statute 103E.101 Subd. 4a defines the re-establishing of records of a drainage system as, “If, after thorough investigation of drainage system records, a drainage authority finds that records establishing the alignment, cross-section, profile, or right-of-way of a drainage systems that it administers are lost, destroyed, or otherwise incomplete, it may, by order, re-establish records defining the alignment, cross-section, profile, hydraulic structure locations, material, dimensions, an elevations or right-of-way of the drainage system as originally constructed or subsequently improved in accordance with this chapter.”
In short, because drainage systems are so old and record keeping may not have needed information for modern times, re-establishment is a method to fill out the drainage record for needed information in order to administer the ditch.
- What is an Engineer's Repair Report?
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- Minnesota Statute 103E.715 Sub. 2, a repair report is described as containing the following elements: If the drainage authority determines that the drainage system needs repair, the drainage authority shall appoint an engineer to examine the drainage system and make a repair report. The report must show the necessary repairs, the estimated cost of the repairs, and all details, plans, and specifications necessary to prepare and award a contract for the repairs. The drainage authority may give notice and order a hearing on the petition before appointing the engineer. Additionally, the Engineer evaluates the environmental impacts and permitting requirements associated with the recommended repairs (Acquiring permits is part of completing the actual repair).
- Can my property be removed from a drainage system?
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- Minnesota Statute 103E.805 is the statute that details how a property owner can petition the drainage authority to remove property from the drainage system. The process involves a petition stating the request is sent to the County Ditch Inspector and then a hearing before the Drainage Authority, which is made up of the five elected County Commissioners, is set. Once a hearing date and time are established, you will bring your information to present to the Drainage Authority.
- State statute defines that the following criteria be met to order the petition to be granted. The burden is on the petitioning landowner to establish three things:
- That the waters from petitioners’ property have been diverted from the drainage system or that the property cannot significantly or regularly use the drainage system;
- That the property is not benefited from the drainage system; and
- That removing the property from the drainage system will not prejudice the property owners and property remaining in the system.
- The cost of the public hearing, mailing notices, inspections, staff time, attorney fees, and any other costs related to the petition will be the petitioners' burden.
- Petition for Removal of Property from a Drainage System (.docx)
- Can a county ditch be abandoned?
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- Minnesota Statute 103E.811 details how abandonment of a drainage system is handled. A drainage system can be abandoned through a petition process that involves either 51% of the number of property owners or signatures representing 51% of the acreage within a drainage system. A valid petition will result in an abandonment hearing. If there are objections at the hearing, the drainage authority SHALL appoint three disinterested ditch viewers to review the property.
- Petition for Abandonment (.docx)
- Can the general public hunt along or use a public ditch for recreational purposes?
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- No, a public ditch is an easement for drainage only. The land remains private property. Like all private property, you need to get the landowner’s permission before entering the property.
- What is a Maintenance Assessment?
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- Maintenance assessments are annual taxes paid by benefitted landowners on a given county ditch system. These assessments are set annually by the drainage authority and are discussed at the annual ditch assessment meeting prior to being approved. The annual ditch assessment meeting is usually in the fall prior to the year being assessed. A postcard will be sent to all benefitted landowners prior to the meeting.
- Maintenance assessments go into the specific ditch fund that the benefitting landowner lives in and nowhere else. I.e., all maintenance assessment money that is collected for a specific county ditch fund will be used solely for the maintenance of that specific ditch.
- Maintenance assessments fund maintenance activities, inspections, staff time, and any other work done on county ditches.
- Minnesota Statute 103E.735 goes into to detail regarding funds maintained for each county ditch system.
- Please view the approved 2026 Maintenance Assessment Resolution (PDF).
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