Ohio's Drainage Laws

An Overview

Bulletin 822

Mechanisms For Drainage Improvement

When correcting an existing drainage problem involves more than one land owner, the owners may mutually agree to cooperate to provide the necessary drainage improvements. The Ohio County Ditch Law provides for the mutual agreement procedure, which is used frequently in Ohio. The mutual agreement procedure provides for: plans to be filed with the county clerk, along with information on the proposed costs; review by the county engineer; and placement of the improvement in a permanent maintenance program conducted by the county government. This procedure is one of the simplest mechanisms by which to make a drainage improvement involving one or more landowners.

There are other legal provisions for carrying out drainage improvements when more than one landowner is involved. These include:

1. The Ohio County Ditch Law, commonly referred to as the Ohio Drainage Laws, presently consists of Chapters 6131, 6133, 6135, and 6137 of the ORC. There have been extensive amendments to the County Ditch Law (first enacted around 1850) passed in 1957 and 1981. Chapter 6131 addresses "County Ditches," 6133 addresses "Joint County Ditches," 6135 addresses "Interstate County Ditches," and 6137 addresses "Ditch Maintenance Fund." Chapter 6131 is probably most relevant to private landowners in Ohio. Drainage improvement procedures based on these chapters are outlined by Nolte (1985b).

2. The Ohio Conservancy District Law (Chapter 6101 of the ORC), originally designed to address flood control, was broadened to authorize drainage improvements. The original Conservancy District law was enacted in 1914. These provisions have been used independently and in conjunction with the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, Public Law 83-566, as described in OCES (1970). Public Law 83-566, commonly called PL-566, only provides planning and financial assistance.

3. Conservation Improvement Projects Through Soil and Water Conservation Districts (Chapter 1515 of the ORC) is the authority for the Soil and Water Conservation Districts to construct improvement projects, and specifically ad dresses the disposal of water. This mechanism has been available since 1969. These provisions, as outlined by Nolte and Derickson (1980), are sometimes referred to as Senate Bill 160 projects.

Some of the mechanisms mentioned above have been revised frequently and additional changes are continually being recommended. The last revision of the Ohio County Ditch Law was through House Bill 282, July 5, 1983.