Opinion ID: 2135135
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Repairs and Improvements.

Text: The fighting issue on appeal is whether the 1990 drainage project was a repair or an improvement within the meaning of the statutory provisions. This question is one of fact. See, e.g., McGuire v. Voight, 242 Iowa 1106, 1109, 49 N.W.2d 472, 473 (1951). The court concluded the project was repair work, therefore reclassification of benefits was not mandated. For reasons that we discuss, we agree. There is both a substantive and a procedural difference between a repair proceeding and an improvement proceeding. Iowa Code section 468.126(1) charges the board of supervisors with keeping a drainage improvement in repair so that it will function properly and perform the services intended. This duty is mandatory. Johnson, 246 Iowa at 551-52, 68 N.W.2d at 525. Section 468.126(1)(a) provides: The board at any time on its own motion, without notice, may order done whatever is necessary to restore or maintain a drainage or levee improvement in its original efficiency or capacity, and for that purpose may remove silt and debris, repair any damaged structures, remove weeds and other vegetable growth, and whatever else may be needed to restore or maintain such efficiency or capacity or to prolong its useful life. If the estimated cost of a repair exceeds certain limits, notice and a hearing is required. Id. § 468.126(1)(c). Landowners do not have the right of dismissal by remonstrance with regard to repairs. Id. § 468.126(1)(d). An improvement to an existing drainage district is defined as a project intended to expand, enlarge or otherwise increase the capacity of any existing ditch, drain or other facility above that for which it was designed. Id. § 468.126(4). If the estimated cost of an improvement exceeds certain limits, notice and a hearing is required and the landowners may file a written remonstrance against the proposed improvement. Id. § 468.126(4)(a), (b). The board must also hear objections and determine whether there should be a reclassification of benefits for the costs of construction. Id. Because different rights and obligations flow from the character of the work done, plaintiffs contend the board undertook construction under the guise of a repair which is in effect an improvement. The board selected the first option from the engineer's report. This option stated that the repair work involves excavation to original grade and shaping the waterway to a 6 [foot] base width and maximum 8:1 side slopes. Johnson noted that this work would provide some relief for the tile capacity deficiencies and would not be affected by remonstrance. The estimated cost of this option was $120,648. The remaining three options were recommendations to repair, replace, and add tile lines to increase the capacity and efficiency of the existing tile. Estimated cost of these options ranged from approximately $99,000 to $687,000. Under the statutory definition of an improvement plaintiffs urge that our inquiry into the project's purpose is limited to a comparison of the capacity of the waterway before and after the 1990 construction. The plaintiffs argue that the capacity of the surface waterway north of the bulkhead was greatly increased by the 1990 project because it no longer existed or functioned as originally constructed. In any event, they argue the waterway capacity was increased beyond that which existed after the 1917 improvements. Thus, any increase in the capacity of the drainage district conclusively proves the project was intended as an improvement. See Iowa Code § 468.126(4). To support their theory plaintiffs' experts testified that the slope specifications for the project were roughly two and one-half times flatter than shown on the 1917 plans. The flatter slopes had the effect of tripling the width at the top of the ditch and doubling the capacity of the surface waterway. As a result of the increased capacity, several larger road culverts were installed. Plaintiffs also attack the board's proceedings from another angle. They presented evidence to support their claim that the waterway had been abandoned by the county by the late 1930s. Several landowners testified that portions of the drainage easement had been filled in and farmed for the past fifty years. LaVerne Oleson testified that while working for Franklin County in 1936 he helped fill in portions of the ditch on one tract of land. He said he worked at the direction of the county engineer and assumed the board was aware of the work. Further, the board met in 1937 and voted to return certain property in the district to the tax rolls for reason that there is now no open ditch ... and all of said lands having become productive farm lands. The plaintiffs also claim damages because the 1990 improvement took approximately sixty-five additional acres of land out of production. Defendants argue that the court correctly determined the intent of the project from all of the surrounding facts and circumstances. In response to complaints of poor drainage from landowners at the north end of the district, the board appointed Johnson to investigate the condition of the drainage district. Johnson testified that option one was intended to restore the waterway above the main tile line as closely as possible to its 1917 condition. No records were found, however, which specified the actual side slopes of the waterway. The 1917 plan simply referred to a maximum slope of ten to three. After consulting several reference books he concluded a slope of eight to one would normally be accessible by farm machinery. He designed the repair project to permit such accessibility. Consequently, any increase in capacity was merely incidental. Additionally, the record shows the 1990 project restored the width and the depth of the ditch to the 1917 specifications. No additional lands are drained by the project. With regard to the alleged expansion of the waterway, Johnson and other experts explained that as a practical matter such repair work often exceeds the original easement because extra dirt from the cleanout forms a spoil bank which is then spread out along the sides of the ditch or waterway to prevent erosion. All of the defendants' experts testified that culverts were strictly a road maintenance matter and did not transform the project into an improvement. The district court examined a variety of factors relied upon by this court in past drainage cases in determining whether the 1990 project was in the nature of a repair. The plaintiffs assert that the court erred in applying the law from those early decisions because the current statutory definitions differ significantly from earlier definitions. We turn now to a review of the older case law. In the early 1920s a county board of supervisors was required to keep a drainage district in repair and for that purpose they may cause the same to be enlarged, reopened, deepened, widened, strengthened or lengthened for a better outlet, and they may change or enlarge the same.... Iowa Code § 1989a21 (Supp.1913). We have held that [t]o repair means to restore to a sound or good condition after decay, injury, dilapidation, or partial destruction. Walker v. Joint Drainage Dist. No. 2, 197 Iowa 351, 355, 197 N.W. 72, 73 (1924) (quotation omitted). The court in Walker found that relaying of tile near an old line was a repair, while the construction of a new branch line was an improvement. Id. at 359, 197 N.W. at 75. To reach its conclusion the court focused on whether the work was done to replace or restore the original line, which was no longer functioning properly, or whether it was a new plan adopted because the original design did not adequately drain the area. Id. at 356-59, 197 N.W. at 74-75. The court found that no new lands were drained by the repaired line. Id. at 359, 197 N.W. at 75; see also Kelleher v. Joint Drainage Dist. No. 18, 216 Iowa 348, 352-54, 249 N.W. 401, 403-04 (1933) (new tile line along different path which was three times larger and served other lands was an improvement). Similarly, in Meyerholz v. Board of Supervisors, 200 Iowa 237, 241-42, 204 N.W. 452, 454-55 (1925), the court looked at whether the location of a levee was changed, whether it was lengthened, and whether any new lands were occupied to determine if a construction project was a repair or an improvement. Although the construction in Meyerholz was extensive and costly, the court found the purpose of the work was to strengthen the levee as built, and restore it so it would adequately perform the function for which it was constructed. Id. at 242, 204 N.W. at 454; see also Board of Supervisors v. Paine, 203 Iowa 263, 271, 210 N.W. 929, 932-33 (1926) (whether work is a repair does not depend on the magnitude or cost of the work). The Iowa legislature amended the Code definitions in 1949. See 1949 Iowa Acts ch. 202, § 21. The new provision for a repair proceeding provided that the board may order done whatever is necessary to restore or maintain a drainage or levee improvement in its original efficiency or capacity, and for that purpose may remove silt and debris, repair any damaged structures, remove weeds and other vegetable growth, and whatever else may be needed to restore or maintain such efficiency or capacity. Iowa Code § 455.135 (1949). If improvements which differ from the repairs were necessary, they might include enlarging, reopening, widening, deepening, straightening or lengthening any drain, changing its location or improving or enlarging the outlet for better service; converting all or any part of any drain from an open ditch to a closed drain; installing surface pipe for open ditches; enlarging, altering, or improving pumping plants; leveling spoil banks, or constructing settling basins. Id. Under the amended definitions the court continued to focus on the same criteria used in its analysis of early drainage disputes. See, e.g., Jerrel v. Board of Supervisors, 247 Iowa 339, 344, 73 N.W.2d 766, 769 (1955); McGuire, 242 Iowa at 1110-12, 49 N.W.2d at 474. What is of real importance in determining this question must be found in the conditions as they existed, and the nature and purpose of the work done. Haugen v. Humboldt-Kossuth Joint Drainage Dist. No. 2, 231 Iowa 288, 305, 1 N.W.2d 242, 251 (1941). Again in 1981 the legislature amended the definitions. See 1981 Iowa Acts ch. 150, § 1. The repair provision was only changed slightly. A repair may now be constructed to prolong the useful life of a drainage improvement. Iowa Code § 468.126(1)(a). The provision relating to improvements was rewritten. The detailed list of possible improvement options was deleted and an improvement was simply defined as a project which intends to increase the capacity of the existing facility above its original design. Id. § 468.126(4). We reject the plaintiffs' argument that the waterway could not be restored because it no longer existed after the 1930s. While some portions of the waterway were filled in and others simply deteriorated over the years, the aerial photos and the witness testimony convince us that the waterway above the tile line north of the bulkhead remained. We agree that the lands which were returned to the tax rolls in 1937 were lands that had previously been occupied by an open ditch north of the bulkhead. This open ditch was replaced by a tile line and transformed into a surface waterway during the 1917 construction. Upon our review of past drainage decisions and prior statutory provisions we conclude that the appropriate method of analysis is not the mere application of a mechanical, single factor test. We continue to objectively examine the facts and circumstances of each drainage case. We believe the legislature intended to differentiate between a repair and an improvement on the basis of the nature and purpose of the work done. Haugen, 231 Iowa at 305, 1 N.W.2d at 251. A repair may include any action necessary to restore or maintain efficiency or capacity of the drainage district or even to prolong its useful life. Iowa Code § 468.126(1)(a). If it is more economical to construct a new line than to repair the existing line, the new line may be considered to be a repair. Id. § 468.126(1)(b). Repair work, therefore, must be in some manner connected to the original improvement and not merely a substitute for the original defective plan or design. Jerrel, 247 Iowa at 344-45, 73 N.W.2d at 769; Kelleher, 216 Iowa at 352-54, 249 N.W. at 403. On the other hand, an improvement goes beyond maintenance or restoration. It must be shown that the intent of the project was to change the original plans in order to increase the capacity of the district above that for which it was designed. Iowa Code § 468.126(4); see Jerrel, 247 Iowa at 344-45, 73 N.W.2d at 769. Although [i]t is not an easy matter to draw the definite line of demarcation between work that may be properly classified as repair work and work that might be classified as a `new improvement' ..., we conclude that under this record the 1990 project was properly characterized as repair work. Meyerholz, 200 Iowa at 243, 204 N.W. at 455. The plaintiffs' experts focus solely on the apparent change in the slope of the waterway as proof of the board's intent to increase the district's drainage capacity. They contend the court cannot look beyond the plans themselves to the subjective intent of the board or its engineer. We believe the engineer's report and statements may also be considered as part of our factual analysis. See McGuire, 242 Iowa at 1110-11, 49 N.W.2d at 474; Kelleher, 216 Iowa at 352-53, 249 N.W. at 403. The facts and circumstances surrounding this project support a finding that the 1990 project was repair work. Following Johnson's investigation, he informed the board that the existing tile lines were generally inadequate. Option one was the least expensive of the construction proposals and would relieve some of the strain on the already undersized tile system. It was clearly not intended as a substitute for the 1917 ditch and drainage plan. The construction work appeared extensive because of the poor condition of the surface waterway. Significantly, neither the bottom width of the ditch nor the depth were changed from the 1917 plans. Experts on both sides agreed that spoil banks were unavoidable and a flatter slope would prevent some erosion and might allow for farming on the side slopes. Finally, no additional lands are drained by the project. Accordingly, we hold that the 1990 project constituted a repair and reclassification of benefits was not required.