Ohio's Drainage Laws

An Overview

Bulletin 822

Where To Get More Information

In each county, there are numerous sources of information on water rights related to drainage. These include: the Ohio Cooperative Extension Service, the Soil and Water Conservation District, the local library, the county engineer's office, the county prosecuting attorney's office, and offices of private attorneys. However, the actual availability of any information may vary greatly from county to county, and office to office. The following is a guide to locating some of the information referenced in this publication.

• All publications published by the Ohio Cooperative Extension Service, and currently in print, are available through the county Extension office.

• The report by Callahan (1979) provides a more complete treatment of Ohio water rights up until about 1978, and the bulletin by Wright et al. (1985) serves as a reference to a number of water rights cases. Both of these publications are out of print, but are on file at: ODNR, Division of Soil and Water Conservation or Division of Water, Fountain Square, Columbus, OH 43224; Department of Agricultural Engineering, The Ohio State University; and possibly at some university and public libraries.

• Copies of the chapters and sections of the Ohio Revised Code cited in this publication may be obtained at most university libraries, public libraries, county law libraries and possibly at some county prosecuting attorneys' and county engineers' offices. The Ohio Revised Code is published and updated frequently.

• Copies of individual court decisions can be obtained at some university and public libraries, and at most law libraries. However, for most recent local decisions, the reader may need to consult the county prosecuting attorney's office, the office of the clerk of county courts or the office of the clerk of the particular district or state court of interest. The length of time for the written description of a local ruling to get into publication, and then into the library system, can be several years. Some local decisions are filed only in the clerk of courts office where the case was heard. If a local case goes unreported, it is usually regarded by legal professional publishers as having, or setting, little or no precedence. Most cases go unreported. Although these cases have less importance on a statewide basis, they may have great importance in the local court where the decision was made.

• The Ohio Legislative Service Commission (Columbus, OH) can furnish copies of legislation under consideration by the Ohio House and Senate. Each year, the House and Senate consider various articles of legislation related to drainage and stormwater management. The Legislative Service Commission also maintains a library of documents published by the commission.

• The USDA-SCS (1987) stormwater management manual is available in local SWCD offices.