Opinion ID: 513964
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Ditches 1, 2, 5, 6 and 89

Text: 27 Judge Devitt found that these ditches have been leveled and some have debris in them. 28 As we read the easement the filling or leveling of a drainage ditch is not a violation unless this activity increases the capacity of the ditch to drain surface water including lakes ... etc. Jerome testified that he had cut down the steep sides of some of the ditches, veed them, in order to get farm machinery across them more easily. Where that is all that occurred, and the operation did not increase the drainage capacity of a ditch which was not already a violation of the easement, we agree with him that no violation has been shown. 29 Ditch 6 runs from one small basin to another in the central part of the farm. It existed in 1966. We have found no evidence in the record that cleaning or other work has been done on it. Accordingly, we modify the judgment so as not to require restoration of Ditch 6. 30 The other ditches in this group will be dealt with later.