216 LAND DRAINAGE 



discharge the sewage of his home or barns into his drain 

 system, the discharge of such drainage into a natural 

 waterway could be prevented by due process of law. 



289. The right of an individual to drain his property 

 when not lying adjacent to natural water courses. In 

 some states at least, the law gives the owner of land the 

 right, when necessary, to drain across the property of 

 another party in order to reach a natural water course or 

 drain. Usually this is done by the use of tile drains. It is 

 frequently possible for the party having land to drain, 

 and the party through whose land the drainage must be 

 conducted, to arrive at an agreement by which the work 

 may be done. It would be a wiser pecaution, always, 

 to have such an agreement in writing and properly wit- 

 nessed. It should be properly signed at least. 



When such an agreement cannot be entered into, or the 

 party across whose land the drainage must be conducted 

 objects, the law usually provides a procedure that must 

 be followed. The procedure must be before a court or an 

 arbitration commission. This court or commission must 

 decide first, whether it is necessary for the party desiring 

 to drain his land, to cross his neighbor's land for an outlet 

 and if they decide affirmatively, they must determine, 

 directly or otherwise (through an employed engineer, 

 " viewers/' or other), the course the drain shall take and 

 the damages the neighbor shall receive for the crossing of 

 his land. The law gives to the land-owner the right, 

 directly or through a contractor, to construct the drain, 

 and at seasonable times thereafter to enter the neighbor's 

 premises to inspect and repair the drain. 



There are two provisions in the law of New York for 

 the drainage of wet land for agricultural purposes, as 

 explained by Fippin in the Cornell Reading Course. 



