Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 88 - Drainage of lands.
88.72 - Removal of dams or other obstructions in drainage outlets.

88.72 Removal of dams or other obstructions in drainage outlets.
(1) The owners of more than one-tenth of the lands within any district may file with the drainage board a petition setting forth:
(a) That the drains constructed within such district do not afford an adequate outlet for drainage;
(b) That it is necessary in order to give an adequate outlet to remove certain dams or other obstructions from waters or streams or to deepen, straighten or widen the same either within or beyond the boundaries of such district; and
(c) That the public health and the public welfare will be promoted by such work and that the navigability of such waters or streams and other public rights therein will not be materially impaired.
(2) Upon receiving a petition under sub. (1), the drainage board shall fix a time and place of a hearing on the petition and shall cause notice of the hearing to be given under s. 88.05 (2) (b) to the persons specified in s. 88.05 (4) (a), to the owner of any dam sought to be removed and to all riparian owners affected by the removal.
(3) At the hearing on the petition, any interested person may appear and contest its sufficiency and the necessity for the work. If the drainage board finds that the petition has the proper number of signers and that to afford an adequate outlet it is necessary to remove dams or other obstructions from waters and streams which may be navigable, or to straighten, clean out, deepen or widen any waters or streams either within or beyond the limits of the district, the board shall obtain any permit that is required under this chapter or ch. 30 or 31.
(4) Within 30 days after the department of natural resources has issued all of the permits as required under this chapter and chs. 30 and 31, the board shall proceed to estimate the cost of the work, including the expenses of the proceeding together with the damages that will result from the work, and shall, within a reasonable time, award damages to all lands damaged by the work and assess the cost of the work against the lands in the district in proportion to the assessment of benefits then in force.
(5) The drainage board may grant the petition and order the additional work done only if the drainage board is satisfied that:
(a) The intended result can be effectively achieved by additional work at a reasonable cost;
(b) The public welfare will be promoted by such additional work;
(c) The cost of such additional work, when added to all expenses previously incurred by the district will not exceed the total benefits theretofore assessed; and
(d) A petition, which is the same in substance or effect as the current petition, has not previously been denied by the drainage board.
History: 1973 c. 336; 1993 a. 456; 1999 a. 9.

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