Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 468.27 (2026)

Dismissal or establishment — permanent easement

✓ current as of July 2026

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1. The board shall at the meeting, or at an adjourned session of the meeting, consider the costs of construction of the improvement as shown by the reports of the engineer and the amount of damages and compensation awarded to all claimants. If, in the board’s opinion, the costs of construction and amount of damages awarded create a greater burden than should justly be borne by the lands benefited by the improvement, the board shall then dismiss the petition and assess the costs and expenses to the petitioners and their sureties. However, if the board finds that the cost and expense is not a greater burden than should be justly borne by the land benefited by the improvement, then the board shall finally and permanently locate and establish the district and improvement.

2. Following the establishment of the district, the drainage district is deemed to have acquired by permanent easement all rights-of-way for drainage district ditches, tile lines, settling basins and other improvements, unless the rights-of-way are acquired by fee simple, in the dimensions shown on the survey and report made in compliance with sections 468.11 and 468.12 or as shown on the permanent survey, plat, and profile, if one is made. Upon the establishment of the district, the petitioners shall file with the county auditor the survey and report or permanent survey, plat, and profile, as set forth in sections 468.172 and 468.173. This filing constitutes constructive notice to all persons of the rights conferred by this section. The permanent easement includes the right of ingress and egress across adjoining land and the right of access for maintenance, repair, improvement, and inspection. The owner or lessee shall be reimbursed for any crop damages incurred in the maintenance, repair, improvement, and inspection except within the right-of-way of the drainage district.

3. a. When the county auditor first receives either the survey and report, or a permanent survey, plat, and profile, as provided in subsection 2, the county auditor shall prepare and file with the county recorder a district parcel record that identifies all parcels contained within the district that is part of the county. The parcel record filed by the county auditor with the county recorder must also include the legal description, parcel identification number, if known, and names of the owners as shown in transfer books in the office of the auditor, for each forty-acre tract or fraction thereof. The county auditor shall provide the county recorder with any amendment to the district parcel record within a reasonable period after receiving the amendment. A county shall not charge a district a filing fee or any other cost or expense under this subsection, including an expense described in section 468.154.

b. (1) A county auditor who has not filed a document described in paragraph “a” as a district parcel record with the county recorder before July 1, 2025, shall prepare and file the district parcel record on or before June 30, 2026.

(2) This paragraph “b” is repealed July 1, 2026. [S13, §1989-a6; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §7452; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §455.33] 85 Acts, ch 163, §1; 87 Acts, ch 42, §1; 89 Acts, ch 126, §2 CS89, §468.27 91 Acts, ch 80, §1; 91 Acts, ch 191, §121; 92 Acts, ch 1163, §96; 2019 Acts, ch 59, §152; 2025 Acts, ch 131, §1 NEW subsection 3 \n

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1994–2025 · leading case: Hicks v. Franklin Cnty. Auditor, 514 N.W.2d 431 (Iowa 1994).

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Hicks v. Franklin Cnty. Auditor, 514 N.W.2d 431 (Iowa 1994). · cites it 2× “” Iowa Code § 468.27 . We have held that the owner retains the right to use the property in any way not inconsistent with the carrying out of the plans of the drainage district, yet this should not be construed to mean that the owner may, in all cases, enter upon the right of…”

Chicago Cent. & Pac. R.R. Co. v. Calhoun Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, Acting as Tr. for the Drainage Dist. No. 86, 816 N.W.2d 367 (Iowa 2012). “§ 468.27. Once a drainage district is established, it acquires a permanent easement for purposes of constructing and maintaining the drainage improvement.”

Peterson v. Bd. of Trs. of Drainage Dist. No. 5, 625 N.W.2d 707 (Iowa 2001). · cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 468.27 . We conclude that the alternative procedure employed by the board is a special form of eminent domain that the legislature has provided for drainage-district takings.”

Peterson v. Bd. of Trust. Drain. Dt. No. 5, 625 N.W.2d 707 (Iowa 2001). · cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 468.27 . We conclude that the alternative procedure employed by the board is a special form of eminent domain that the legislature has provided for drainage-district takings.”

Marabelle Ann 'Le' Abbas; Marabelle Abbas Trust; Matthew Abbas; Harland Duane Abbas Trust; Patricia F. Hanson; Patricia Hanson; Ten-K Farms, Inc; Bruce C. Reid; Lynette Meyer & Roy & Neva Stover Trust v. Franklin Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, Mike Nolte, Gary McVicker, & Chris Vanness as Trs. of Drainage Dist. No. 28 (Iowa 2025). · cites it 6× “2d at 440 (quoting Iowa Code § 468.27 (1989)). Having found an easement, the district court denied the plaintiffs’ claims to right-of-way damages associated with the land covered by the original open ditch, even though the plaintiffs (and their predecessors) had been using the…”

Lemke v. Franklin Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors (Iowa Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 5× “See Iowa Code § 468.27 (2); Hicks, 514 N.W.2d at 440–41 (determining Franklin County Drainage District 48 has a permanent drainage easement); Abbas, ___ N.”

Abbas v. Franklin Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors (Iowa Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 2× “33, which is now section 468.27(2). See 1985 Iowa Acts ch.”

— Iowa Code § 468.27(2) — 2 cases

Abbas v. Franklin Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors (Iowa Ct. App. 2024). “33, which is now section 468.27(2). See 1985 Iowa Acts ch.”

Lemke v. Franklin Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors (Iowa Ct. App. 2025). “See Iowa Code § 468.27 (2); Hicks, 514 N.W.2d at 440–41 (determining Franklin County Drainage District 48 has a permanent drainage easement); Abbas, ___ N.”

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