Section 48.44. Obstructing or altering district drains.

 

(1)   Prohibition. Except as provided under sub. (2) , no person may obstruct or alter a district drain without prior written approval from the county drainage board.

(2)   Withdrawing water; exemption. An owner of land adjacent to a district drain may, without prior approval from the county drainage board, withdraw water from a district drain and place an obstruction in the district drain for that purpose while withdrawing that water if all of the following apply:

(a) The landowner notifies the county drainage board under s. ATCP 48.40 before withdrawing the water or placing the obstruction in the district drain.

(b) The landowner obtains a permit from the department of natural resources authorizing the withdrawal, if a permit is required under s. 30.18 (2) (a) 2. , Stats.

(c) The obstruction does not elevate the water surface elevation in the district drain, at the point of the obstruction, above the base flow elevation specified as part of the formally established grade profile for that district drain.

(d) Neither the obstruction nor the withdrawal of water reduces the base flow, in a district drain that has a navigable stream history, below the minimum base flow which the state of Wisconsin department of natural resources has established for that district drain under s. 88.31 , Stats..

(e) The withdrawal does not injure any district drain, or make any district drain more susceptible to injury. Injury to a district drain includes, for purposes of this paragraph, any of the following:

1. Damage to any structure in a district drain.

2. The deposition of excavated materials in a district drain.

3. The weakening, undercutting or accelerated erosion of any side bank in a district drain.

(3)   Drainage board may review. A county drainage board may do any of the following:

(a) Require a landowner to provide information showing that the landowner's withdrawal of water complies with sub. (2) .

(b) Prohibit a landowner from withdrawing water under sub. (2) if the drainage board reasonably concludes that the withdrawal violates this chapter. The drainage board shall document, in writing, the basis for its conclusion.

Cr. Register, August, 1999, No. 524 , eff. 9-1-99.

Note

A "formally established" grade profile is a grade profile established by court order, or by the county drainage board under s. ATCP 48.20 or 48.21 . A violation of par. (c) "materially defeats the purposes of drainage" within the meaning of s. 88.93 , Stats. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1