Organization of Districts

C.R.S. tit. 37, art. 20
in effect

C.R.S. § 37-20-101 Legislative declaration

37-20-101. Legislative declaration. It is declared by the general assembly that the reclamation by drainage of lands not at present cultivatable or useful or fully so will be conducive to the public health, convenience, utility, or welfare. The owners of agricultural lands susceptible of drainage by the same general system of works may propose the organization of a drainage district by presenting to the board of county commissioners of the county where the larger portion of said lands lie a petition giving the name of the proposed district and praying that the board of county commissioners cause the question of the organization of said district to be submitted to a vote of the owners of the lands lying within the boundaries thereof or that a drainage system may be established without election, as provided in section 37-20-110.

C.R.S. § 37-20-102 Petition - maps - committee

37-20-102. Petition - maps - committee. (1) The petition may be in more than one part for convenience in obtaining signatures if each part is the same in substance. When the several parts of said petition, with the signatures thereto attached, are together presented to the board of county commissioners, they shall be considered as one petition. Said petition shall be signed by a majority of the owners of said lands, whether residents or nonresidents of said county, as well as by the owners in the aggregate of a majority of the total number of acres of land sought to be included in said district and shall contain a general description of the boundaries of said proposed district and a statement that the lands within said proposed district are not at present cultivatable or useful or fully so and that they can be made more productive or useful by drainage. (2) The petition shall be accompanied by a map drawn to scale of not less than two inches to the mile, giving the names of the owners of each tract of land appearing of record and proposed to be embraced in said district. The petitioners shall select and name in said petition a committee of three or more of said petitioners to present such petition to the board of county commissioners and to give notice thereof as provided in section 37-20-106. (3) The equalized county assessment roll next preceding the presentation of a petition for the organization of a drainage district is sufficient evidence of title for the purpose of articles 20 to 30 of this title, but other evidence may be received including receipts or other evidence of the rights of entrymen of lands under any law of the United States or of this state, and such entrymen shall be competent signers of such petition, and the lands on which said entries have been made by entrymen for the purpose of said petition shall be considered as owned by them. Articles 20 to 30 of this title shall apply to said lands to the extent of the rights of such entrymen and shall bind said lands as other lands in the district when the title of the state or the United States is divested.

C.R.S. § 37-20-103 Petition accompanied by bond

37-20-103. Petition accompanied by bond. The petition shall be accompanied by a good and sufficient bond with sureties to be approved by the said board of county commissioners in a penal sum double the amount of the probable cost of organizing said district, conditioned for the payment of all costs incurred in said proceedings in case said organization shall not be effected.

C.R.S. § 37-20-104 Cash in lieu of bond

37-20-104. Cash in lieu of bond. In lieu of a bond the board of county commissioners, in its discretion, may require the petitioners to pay in advance to the county treasurer from time to time such sums of money as in the opinion of the board of county commissioners will be required for the costs and expenses of organizing said district.

C.R.S. § 37-20-105 Expenses reimbursed - when

37-20-105. Expenses reimbursed - when. In case the district is organized, the expenses incurred by the county shall be paid to the county by said district, and all advances made by the petitioners to the county treasurer shall be refunded by the county to the petitioners, who shall have advanced the same.

C.R.S. § 37-20-106 Petition - notice - publication

37-20-106. Petition - notice - publication. Prior to the presentation of the petition to the board of county commissioners, the petition shall be published in some newspaper of general circulation in the county where said petition will be presented, for at least two weeks, together with a notice signed by the committee selected by the petitioners and named in said petition, giving the time and place of the presentation of the same to the board of county commissioners.

C.R.S. § 37-20-107 Hearing of petition

37-20-107. Hearing of petition. At the time and place designated in the notice, if it appears that the notice of presentation of the petition has been given as required by section 37-20-106 and that said petition has been signed by the number of petitioners required by section 37-20-102, the board of county commissioners shall hear said petition and applications for the exclusion of lands from said district and applications for the inclusion of lands therein and may adjourn such hearing from time to time not exceeding four weeks in all.

C.R.S. § 37-20-108 Change boundaries - limitations

37-20-108. Change boundaries - limitations. The board of county commissioners may make such changes in the boundaries of the proposed district as may be necessary by including therein upon the application of the owners thereof of other lands susceptible of drainage by the proposed system, or which will be benefited by the system of drainage, and by excluding therefrom lands mentioned in the petition which in the opinion of the board of county commissioners will not be susceptible of drainage thereby or will not be benefited by the system of drainage, but the board of county commissioners shall not exclude from said district any lands described in the petition which, in the opinion of the board, are susceptible of drainage by the system or will be benefited thereby.

C.R.S. § 37-20-109 Order establishing district

37-20-109. Order establishing district. When the boundaries of any proposed drainage district have been determined, the board of county commissioners shall make an order allowing the prayer of the petition, defining and establishing the boundaries and designating the name of the proposed district.

C.R.S. § 37-20-110 Establishment without election

37-20-110. Establishment without election. When the prayer of the petition is that a drainage system be established without holding an election and it appears that a large portion of the land which will be benefited by the proposed drainage system is unoccupied land or so many of the owners of land to be benefited thereby are not residents upon the land that an election would be impracticable or would entail an undue expense, the board of county commissioners is authorized, at any regular or special session, to cause a system of drainage to be constructed and to exercise all the powers conferred upon boards of directors of drainage districts, and to continue to exercise the powers and perform the duties of boards of directors until a petition is presented signed by the owners of the larger portion of the lands, or their duly authorized agents, praying that an election may be called to elect directors for the district. Then the board of county commissioners shall call an election for that purpose and as soon as the result of said election is determined, the board of county commissioners shall cease to have or exercise the duties of directors of a drainage district.

C.R.S. § 37-20-111 Election - notice - contents

37-20-111. Election - notice - contents. (1) When the petition prays that an election shall be held, the board of county commissioners shall order an election to be held within the proposed drainage district for the purpose of determining whether or not said district shall be organized and shall cause to be published a notice of said election which shall contain: (a) The name of the proposed district; (b) The boundaries thereof; (c) The polling places; (d) The names of the judges of election; (e) The names of three or more persons eligible for directors of said district; (f) The date of said election. (2) Said notice shall require the electors to cast ballots which shall contain the words: "Drainage District - Yes" or "Drainage District - No". Said notice shall be signed by the chairman of the board of county commissioners and attested by the county clerk and recorder under the seal of the county.

C.R.S. § 37-20-112 Three directors - representation

37-20-112. Three directors - representation. There shall be elected three directors who shall be owners of land within said district; but the board of county commissioners may divide and if requested in said petition shall divide said district into three divisions, as nearly equal as conveniently may be, which shall be numbered one, two, and three, respectively, and in that event, the voters of each division shall elect one director, who shall be the owner of land within said division, and the three thus elected shall be the directors of said district.

C.R.S. § 37-20-113 Polling place - precincts

37-20-113. Polling place - precincts. The board of county commissioners shall designate a polling place within said district and, if necessary, shall establish a convenient number of election precincts within said district, define the boundaries thereof, and designate the polling place in each precinct.

C.R.S. § 37-20-114 Judges of election

37-20-114. Judges of election. The board of county commissioners shall appoint for each precinct, from the qualified electors who are owners of lands therein, three judges of election who shall exercise the powers and duties usually performed by judges of election in this state.

C.R.S. § 37-20-115 Publication of election notice

37-20-115. Publication of election notice. The notice shall be published at least two weeks preceding the election in a newspaper of general circulation within the county; and a like notice shall be published in each county within which any portion of the district may lie.

C.R.S. § 37-20-116 Qualification of voters

37-20-116. Qualification of voters. Every owner of land within said district, who is a citizen of the United States or has declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States and is a resident of the state of Colorado, shall be entitled to vote at such election in the precinct where he resides, or if a nonresident of the precinct, then in the precinct within which the greater portion of his land lies.

C.R.S. § 37-20-117 Canvass of votes - result

37-20-117. Canvass of votes - result. The board of county commissioners shall meet on the second Monday following the election and proceed to canvass the votes cast thereat. If it appears that a majority of the votes cast are "Drainage District - Yes", the board of county commissioners shall make an order declaring that said drainage district is duly organized under the name theretofore designated and that the persons who receive the highest number of votes respectively are duly elected directors of said district.

C.R.S. § 37-20-118 Order filed with county clerk and recorder

37-20-118. Order filed with county clerk and recorder. The board of county commissioners shall cause a certified copy of the order, together with a copy of the plat of the district, to be filed with the county clerk and recorder of each county in which any portion of the district lies, and thereafter no land within the district shall be included within the boundaries of any other drainage district without the consent of the owner of the lands sought to be embraced within such other district.

C.R.S. § 37-20-119 Officers to qualify

37-20-119. Officers to qualify. On and after the date of such filing, the organization of said district shall be complete, and the officers thereof shall forthwith enter upon the duties of their respective offices, upon qualifying according to law, and shall hold their respective offices until their successors are elected and qualified.

C.R.S. § 37-20-120 Validity of organization

37-20-120. Validity of organization. No action shall be brought or maintained or defense made affecting the validity of the organization of said district, unless the same has been commenced or made within one year after the entry of said order.

C.R.S. § 37-20-121 Actions - judicial notice - validity

37-20-121. Actions - judicial notice - validity. In all actions, suits, and judicial proceedings in any court of this state, the court shall take judicial notice of the organization and existence of any drainage district of this state, from and after the filing for record in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the certified copy of the order of the board of county commissioners mentioned in section 37-20-117. A certified copy of said order shall be prima facie evidence in all actions, suits, and proceedings in any court of this state of the regularity and legal sufficiency of all acts, matters, and proceedings therein recited and set forth. Any such drainage district, in regard to which any such order may be entered and such certified copy thereof so filed for record, which has exercised the rights and powers of such a district and which has in office a board of directors exercising the duties of its office and the legality or regularity of the formation or organization of which shall not have been questioned by proceedings in quo warranto instituted in the district court of the county in which such district or the greater portion thereof is situated, within one year from the date of such filing, shall be conclusively deemed to be a legally and regularly organized, established, and existing drainage district within the meaning of articles 20 to 30 of this title. The due and lawful formation and organization of said district shall not thereafter be questioned in any action, suit, or proceeding whether brought under the provisions of articles 20 to 30 of this title or otherwise.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-37.docxFetched: 10/6/2026