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Last modified
1/26/2010 10:08:50 AM
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10/5/2006 4:11:21 AM
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Floodplain Documents
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Statewide
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Statewide
Title
General Principles of Drainage Law Outline
Date
1/15/1980
Floodplain - Doc Type
Educational/Technical/Reference Information
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<br />3. Summary. <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />In general, in the absence of negligence a munic- <br />ipality will not be held liable for increasen runoff occasioned by <br />the necessary and desirable construction of drains and sewers. <br />Denver v. Rhodes, 9 Colo. 554, 13 P. 729 (1887). Nor will a munic- <br />ipality be held liable for damages caused by overflow of its sewers <br />or drains occasioned by extraordinary, unforeseeable rains or floods. <br />18 Mcquillan, Municipal Corporations, ~53.124 (3rd ed. 1971). <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Municipal liability will attach, however, where a municipality: <br />(1) Collects surface water and casts it in a body onto private pro- <br />perty where it did not formerly flow; (2) Diverts, by means of <br />artificial drains, surface water from the course it would otherwise <br />have taken, and casts it in a body large enough to do substantial <br />injury on private land, where, but for the artificial drain, it <br />would not go; or (3) Fills up, darns back, or otherwise diverts a <br />stream of running water so that it overflows its banks and flows <br />on the land of another. A municipality is also liable if it fails <br />to provide a proper outlet for drainage improvements constructed to <br />divert surface waters or if it fails to exercise ordinary care in <br />the maintenance and repair of drainage improvements. This latter <br />liability attaches when it is determined that a municipality has <br />not exercised a reasonable degree of watchfulness in ascertaining <br />the condition of a drainage system to prevent deterioration or <br />obstruction. 13 Mcquillan, Municipal Corporations, ~37.254 (3rd ed. <br />1971). See, also, Malvernia v. City of Trinidad, 123 Colo. 394, 229 <br />P.2d 945 (1951). <br /> <br />Thus, the best rule to follow in planning for the construction of <br />drainage improvements, whether following the natural watercourse or <br />artificially draining surface water, is that a municipality is liable <br />if it actively injures private property as a result of improvements <br />made to handle surface water. A municipality, in Colorado, appears <br />to be in a much stronger position if it can establish that the <br />improvement followed natural drainage patterns. Drainage District <br />v. Auckland, 83 Colo. 510, 267 P. 605 (1928); City of Englewood v. <br />Linkenheil, 362 P.2d 186 (1961); City of Boulder v. Boulder and <br />White Rock Ditch and Reservoir Company, 73 Colo. 426, 216 P. 553 <br />(1923). See Kenworthy, Urban Drainage: Aspects of Public and <br />Private Liability, July-August 1962, DICTA, p. 197; Shoemaker, <br />An Engineering - Legal Solution to Urban Drainage Problems, 45 Denver <br />Law Journal 381 (1968). <br /> <br />C. Municipal Liability for Acts of Others. <br /> <br />1. Acts or Omissions of Municipal Officers, Agents, <br />or Employees. <br /> <br />. The general rule is that a municipality is not <br /> <br />1-15-80 <br /> <br />(5) <br />
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