Stearns County Ditch 12 (CD12)
Stearns County Ditch 12 (CD12) was established in 1904. The ditch is 8 miles in length and contains roughly 2,415 benefitted acres.
CD12 is both a legal county ditch and public waters. The DNR requires review of any drainage projects that may impact public waters and may also require a permit for work in the ditch or a letter of permission.
2024 Special Assessment by Parcel
1/8/2023 - Proposed Special Tax Assessments
Proposed Special Tax Assessments for 2023 drainage system costs will be presented to the Stearns County Drainage Authority as the November 14, 2023 Board of Commissioners meeting. The assessment is necessary to pay for costs incurred by the drainage system in 2023. If approved, the special assessments will be certified to the 2024 property tax statements for property owners within the drainage system.
Drainage System Special Assessments Payable 2024
8/15/2023
Stearns County is working with a vendor for a ditch repair near County Road 5 where vegetation has completely choked the ditch channel. Water continues to back up in this area even in drought conditions. It was expected that this would need to be winter work if the site froze enough for equipment. The snow blanket last winter did not provide the necessary freezing, but the dry conditions this summer have made it possible to explore smaller equipment with pads to access the site. Attached is the repair proposal that was mentioned in the 2022 CD 12 year in review letter that was mailed. The vendor bid is $1.90 per linear foot with about 2,000 feet planned for clearing.
3/16/2023
Recently, a letter was mailed to all property owners within the County Ditch 12 drainage system. The letter was mailed by an attorney who is representing a property owner within the drainage system. The letter is regarding a property owner petition request for a Redetermination of Drainage System Benefits. The current cost share that property owners pay for drainage system costs was determined in 1904. A redetermination would update the cost share percentage that each property owner would be responsible for and also update which property is part of the system.
A successful redetermination petition would require Stearns County to facilitate a redetermination of benefits. The property owners of the newly determined system would pay the cost of redetermination. It is expected that the size of the drainage system would increase dramatically. Engineering has suggested that the natural watershed for the drainage system is approximately 8,600 acres. Ditch Viewers typically charge around $4.00 an acre for their services. Based on these estimates, a reasonable rough estimated cost for the ditch viewing services may be $35,000. Additional costs for legal, engineering, and staff time should also be expected. This is only an estimate based on the best available information. Costs are subject to change. For answers to common questions regarding Redetermination, please follow the link below.
CD12 Flight Video
CD12 Drone Flight - Flown November 15, 2019
