Kansas Statutes 24-1201a. Declaration of public necessity for creation of districts; power; benefits
Terms Used In Kansas Statutes 24-1201a
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Property: includes personal and real property. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- watershed: shall mean all of the area within the state draining toward a selected point on any watercourse, stream, lake or depression;
(i) "subwatershed" shall mean a division of the district as nearly equal in size to other divisions of the district as feasible and including as nearly as practicable one or more tributaries to the main stream which drains from the district;
(j) "qualified voter" shall mean any qualified elector of the district and any person 18 years of age or over owning land within the district, although not a resident therein;
(k) "landowner" shall mean the record owner of the fee in any real estate in the district or the fee in the surface rights of any real estate in the district, but the owners of an oil and gas lease, mineral rights or interest, easements or mortgages as such shall not be considered landowners, and school districts, cemetery associations and municipal corporations shall not be considered landowners;
(l) "steering committee" shall be the group of qualified voters, not less than the number to be chosen for the board of directors, who shall serve as the governing body of the proposed watershed district until the first board of directors is elected;
(m) "general plan" shall mean a preliminary engineering report describing the characteristics of the district, the nature and methods of dealing with the soil and water problems within the district, and the projects proposed to be undertaken by the district. See Kansas Statutes 24-1202
It is recognized that serious problems of water management resulting from erosion, floodwater or sediment damages or instability of natural water supplies are arising in the watersheds of the rivers and streams of the state of Kansas; that for the purpose of alleviating such damages and furthering the conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water and thereby preserving and protecting the state’s land and water resources, it is legislatively determined that it is necessary and advisable to establish watershed districts with the power to construct, operate and maintain works of improvement needed to carry out such purposes; that there is hereby declared the public necessity for the creation of such districts in watersheds including lands that are subject to erosion, floodwater or sediment damages or that would be benefited by the construction of works of improvement for the conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water; and that it is further declared that the formation of such districts will inure to the general benefit of all of the taxable, tangible property included therein.