Opinion ID: 900296
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Township Duties

Text: ¶ Townships have mandatory responsibilities for their culverts: It shall be the duty of the township board of supervisors to cause to be inspected, at least once every three months, each culvert on secondary highways within the township and to cause same to be repaired if necessary. SDCL 31-14-33 (emphasis added). [5] Here, the Township, acting through its board of supervisors, notified the Knodels of their intent to either unplug or replace the culvert. As a road may alter the natural flow of surface water, townships are obliged to reasonably accommodate the area's natural drainage. The Township acted within its statutory duty to monitor and repair its culverts. Injunctions cannot be used to prevent public officials from exercising their legal obligations. Anderson, 264 N.W.2d at 718; SDCL 21-8-2. Simply because a plugged culvert remained undiscovered for many years will not alter those responsibilities.