Construction of System

C.R.S. tit. 37, art. 24

in effect

C.R.S. § 37-24-101 Construction - bids - advertising

37-24-101. Construction - bids - advertising. After adopting a plan for a drainage system and providing for the payment of the same, or a designated part thereof by assessment or bonds, the board of directors shall give notice, by publication not less than twenty days prior to the date of opening proposals in a newspaper published in the county where the office of the drainage district is kept and in such other newspaper as may be deemed advisable, calling for bids for the construction of said work or any portion thereof; if less than the whole, then the portion of said system to be constructed shall be described in the notice. The notice shall set forth where the plans and specifications may be seen and that sealed proposals will be received at the office of the drainage district and a contract let to the lowest responsible bidder, giving the time and place for opening the proposals, which, at said time and place, shall be opened in public. The board of directors may enter into a contract with the lowest responsible bidder for the construction of the whole or any portion of the work mentioned in the notice, or may reject any and all bids and readvertise for proposals, or may proceed to construct the work under the supervision of the board of directors, and in that event all material shall be purchased from the lowest responsible bidders after proposals have been invited and notice thereof published.

C.R.S. § 37-24-102 Contractor - bond - engineer

37-24-102. Contractor - bond - engineer. The person to whom a contract may be awarded shall execute a bond in the penal sum of not less than ten percent of the contract price, with surety to be approved by the board of directors, payable to the drainage district, conditioned for the faithful performance of the contract. All work shall be done under the direction and to the satisfaction of the engineer employed by the drainage district subject to approval by the board of directors.

C.R.S. § 37-24-103 Right of eminent domain

37-24-103. Right of eminent domain. The board of directors has the power to construct the works across any watercourse, street, avenue, highway, railway, canal, or ditch which the route of such drainage system or any branch thereof intersects or crosses. If any railroad company, or the owners and controllers of said property, thing, or franchise so to be crossed, or the owner of land necessary for said drainage district, and the board of directors cannot agree upon the amount to be paid therefor, or the points or the manner of said crossings, the same shall be ascertained and determined in all respects as is provided by law in respect to the taking of land for public uses, by the exercise of the right of eminent domain, which right is hereby conferred on drainage districts.

C.R.S. § 37-24-104 Additional powers - eminent domain

37-24-104. Additional powers - eminent domain. All drainage districts incorporated under the laws of this state have, in addition to all rights and powers granted by statute prior to March 22, 1921, the right and power under the laws of this state to cross lands outside the boundaries of said drainage district with any part of the system of drainage works including the drainage ditch or canal thereof.

C.R.S. § 37-24-105 Compensation for property taken

37-24-105. Compensation for property taken. Said drainage district shall make due and just compensation for such right-of-way and the damages occasioned by the construction and operation of its works, and, where the compensation for the property sought to be taken or damaged cannot be agreed upon by the parties interested, or in case the owner of the property is incapable of consenting, or his name or residence is unknown, or he is a nonresident of the state, the compensation to be paid for such right-of-way and damages occasioned by the construction and operation of such drainage works shall be determined by proceedings in eminent domain in the manner provided by law for the exercise of the right of eminent domain.

C.R.S. § 37-24-106 Right-of-way across state lands

37-24-106. Right-of-way across state lands. The right-of-way is given, dedicated, and set apart to locate, construct, and maintain drainage systems and works in, over, through, across, or upon any of the lands which are the property of the state.

C.R.S. § 37-24-107 No officer interested in contract

37-24-107. No officer interested in contract. No director or officer of a district shall be interested directly or indirectly in any contract awarded or to be awarded by the board or in the profits thereof, nor shall he or she receive any gratuity or bribe. For any violation of this provision, such officer or director commits a class 6 felony and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-401, C.R.S., and such conviction shall work a forfeiture of his or her office.

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