244.010. Drainage for agricultural or sanitary purposes. - Missouri Statutes

Drainage for agricultural or sanitary purposes.

244.010. The owner or owners of all or any part of any tractor parcel of swamp, wet, flat or overflowed land in this state,situated within or without any drainage or levee districtorganized under any laws of this state, shall have the right,under the provisions of this chapter, to drain or protect suchland for sanitary or agricultural purposes, without forming suchland into a district, by constructing an open ditch, laying tileor building a levee, and such ditch, tile or levee may beconstructed through or across any tract or parcel of land situatebetween such land to be drained or protected and any lake, bayou,hollow, creek, artificial drainage ditch, river, depression orother outlet into which the waters from such swamp, wet, flat oroverflowed land can be drained, provided the owner or owners ofthe land through or upon which such ditch, tile or levee must bebuilt be paid a sum equal to the value of land, if any, consumedin constructing such works and the amount of damages, if any,that will be sustained by such land from the construction andmaintenance of the improvement.

(RSMo 1939 § 12455)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 10865; 1919 § 4560; 1909 § 5662

CROSS REFERENCE:

County planning commission, class one counties, approval of improvements, RSMo 64.010 to 64.200

(1974) This section gives no right to obstruct a natural watercourse to the damage of upstream owners. Dudley Special Rd. Dist. of Stoddard Cty. v. Harrison (A.), 517 S.W.2d 170.