Any landowner or political subdivision within a county, after the creation of a board of reclamation by the board of county commissioners, may file an application with the county engineer asking that the county dredging equipment be used to reclaim his land. This application shall be submitted to the board of reclamation within twenty days after the date of filing. The board shall conduct an investigation of the applicant’s request and if it determines that dredging will assist in reclaiming the land thereby increasing its value for tax purposes and that such reclamation is otherwise desirable, it shall direct the county engineer to permit the dredging equipment, and such personnel required to operate it, to be used to assist in the reclamation of the applicant’s land.