County Drainage Inspector

There are 10 County Drainage Systems located in Mower County, each of which consist of open ditch, drainage tile or both.  Each drainage system has a watershed boundary and everyone in that boundary pays an assessed amount on their taxes.  These tax dollars get placed in a special fund for that drainage system.  Repairs and other miscellaneous expenses for the systems come out of each individual fund.   Rick Morrison, Mower SWCD, is the Mower County Drainage Inspector. The Drainage Inspector investigates and hires contractors to repair the drainage systems, maintains an inventory of existing systems, keeps accurate records and assists in the annual budget process for each system, educates and assists the landowners with tile and ditch cleanout procedures and performs inspections on all county drainage construction sites. 2009 Annual County Ditch Report 2008 Annual County Ditch Report County Ditch #1: Built in 1920 Located in Sections 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 & 16 of Bennington Township (open ditch) Located in Sections 12, 13, 14 & 23 of Clayton Township (tile lines) Drainage area -15.8 square miles Redetermination of Benefits in 1999 Major cleanout done in 2006 County Ditch #4: Built in 1918 Located in Sections 8, 9, 16, 21, 28 & 29 of Austin Township All closed tile system-no open ditch Condition is poor, tile originated in Austin Homesteads Addition Redetermination of Benefits in 2005 Major Repair Scheduled on a 30" main tile in 2009 Drainage area-3.4 square miles County Ditch #5: Built in 1922 Located in Sections 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, & 17 of Lansing Township (open ditch) Located in Sections 5, 6, 7 & 8 of Lansing Township (tile lines) Some tile lines reach into Freeborn County Condition of this ditch is good, a major cleanout was done in the mid 1980's, and another major one was done in 2000 Drainage area-8.0 square miles in Mower County and 3.4 square miles in Freeborn County      County Ditch #6: Built in 1922 Located in Section 25 of Adams Township and Sections 30 & 31 of Lodi Township (open ditch) Located in Sections 24 & 25 of Adams Township and Sections 19 & 30 of Lodi Township (tile line) Condition of this ditch is good-a major cleanout was done in 1993 Drainage area -3.7 square miles Redetermination of benefits done in 1999 County Ditch #7: Built in 1920 Located in Section 10, 13, 14 & 15 of Dexter Township Closed tile lines-no open ditch Condition is fair Drainage area-3.1 square miles County Ditch #8: Built in 1958 Located in Sections 8, 9, 16 & 17 of Clayton Township All open ditch Condition is excellent, a cleanout was done in 1986 Drainage area-6.4 square miles County Ditch #17: Built in 1929 Location in Sections 30 & 31 of Austin Township in Mower County Some lines reach into Freeborn County All closed tile system Condition is unknown Drainage area- .3 square miles in Mower and 1.0 in Freeborn County Ditch #26: Built in 1949 Located in Sections 19, 20, 21 & 28 in Lansing Township (open ditch and tile lines) Some tile lines reach into Freeborn County Condition is good, a major cleanout was done in the mid 1980's Open ditch cleanout completed in 2007 Drainage area-6.0 square miles in Mower and 0.6 square miles in Freeborn Also known as Murphy's Creek County Ditch #77: Built in 1975 Located in Sections 7, 8 & 17 of Lyle Township Open ditch with tile Condition is good, a major cleanout was done in 1996 Drainage area-3.8 square miles Redetermination of Benefits in 2003 Also referred to as the McGee Ditch County Ditch #79: Built in 1978 Located in Sections 23, 24, 25 & 26 of Lyle Township Section 26 is open ditch and the balance is tile Condition is good, a cleanout was done in 2000 Minor ditch bottom cleanout scheduled for 2009 Drainage area-4.8 square miles Also referred to as the Truckenmiller/Johnson Group   If you have any questions on the Mower County Drainage Systems, contact Rick at our office (507) 434-2603 or e-mail him at rick.morrison@mn.nacdnet.net