Since the early 1900s, people have been draining water from sloughs throughout Redwood County.
That water would be drained into open ditches which are scattered across the county and have helped to create some of the best farm land in the county.
While those ditches were put in by the county, it has been the responsibility, at least in terms of financing maintenance of the ditches, of the landowners who are experiencing the benefits of the drainage.
In those early years, it was determined those who owned what were known as “wet acres” were the ones who were deemed to benefit from the ditch.
So, they paid the levy to maintain the ditch and the county tile.
(For the rest of this story, see the print edition of the Redwood Gazette.)
