280.421 Obstructions; removal; expenses, notice; livestock; criminal complaint.

Sec. 421.

    Whenever any person shall obstruct any established drain, it shall be the duty of the commissioner to cause such obstruction to be removed. Any lessening of the area of a drain, which area shall be a cross section of the drain, shall be deemed to be an obstruction. The person causing such obstruction shall be liable for the expense attendant upon the removal thereof, together with the charges of the commissioner, and the same shall be a lien upon the lands of the party causing or permitting such obstruction, and all of the expense shall by the commissioner be reported to the board of supervisors, together with the report of his doings in the premises, and by said board ordered spread upon the land of the offending party, should the same remain unpaid: Provided, That the offending party causing such obstruction shall be given a notice in writing of at least 5 days to remove such obstruction. This provision as to obstruction of any drain shall not apply where the obstruction was caused by natural causes, but the owner of the stock who shall permit his horses, cattle, pigs and other stock to obstruct any drain by tramping in it shall be deemed to be the party causing such obstruction. Nothing contained in this section shall in any way impede or bar the right of any person to make criminal complaint under any existing law for any obstruction of a drain.