P.D. 123 17 



The Board also believes it desirable that specific provision be made for 

 compensation of the members. A large part of the Board's work is neces- 

 sarily done outside the regular hours of State service since meetings with 

 the district officers and members and with petitioners for improvements 

 authorized under the law must largely be held in the evening and often at a 

 distance from Boston that requires absence over night. The amount of 

 compensation should be in proportion to the service rendered and can best be 

 determined by the Governor and Council. An amendment to this effect is, 

 therefore, recommended. 



A third change in the law which we believe would have beneficial results 

 would permit the Board to determine, after receiving petitions, whether the 

 requested improvements require the organization of a district and would 

 then enable necessary proceedings to be taken without the organization of a 

 district if no district seems to be necessary. Some small projects can readily 

 be handled by agreement among the parties involved, provided the work is 

 properly supervised by the Board. The organization of a district is a formal 

 and somewhat complicated legal matter which should not be compulsory 

 where small areas and a simple program of work will meet requirements. 

 Amendments providing for this additional line of procedure are, therefore, 

 recommended. 



The other amendments suggested are not described in detail because they 

 are largely of a minor character intended to perfect the operation of the law 

 and to clarify procedure in certain respects, particularly in dealing with the 

 finances of districts. 



General Work of the Board. 



The policy followed by the Board in previous years has been continued. 

 It has supervised and directed such reclamation projects as were actually in 

 process, has assisted in organizing districts for which petitions were presented 

 and has acted as a bureau of information for individuals and for officers of 

 cities and towns who were interested in draining and otherwise improving, 

 wet lands. So far as possible, engineers and contractors in the localities 

 where the work is done are given preference. But in some instances it ap- 

 pears that this practice leads to greater expense in making surveys and per- 

 forming construction work than is really necessary. It seems certain that 

 surveys could be made much cheaper if conducted under the immediate 

 direction of the Board by an employee of the Board itself, the cost then being 

 assessed back on lands within the districts concerned. 



Only one new petition was presented to the Board during the year. Sev- 

 eral inquiries which will probably lead to petitions for the organization of 

 districts have been brought to the Board's attention. A larger amount of 

 actual construction work has been done than in any previous year and the 

 variety of conditions encountered was greater than in any previous season. 

 A statement of the situation in each of the organized districts and of condi- 

 tions affecting projects where no district has yet been organized appears in 

 the following paragraphs. 



Drainage Districts. 



At the beginning of the year only three districts organized under the 

 Drainage Law were still in existence ; namely the Cherry Rum Brook District, 

 Greenfield, the Salisbury District at Salisbury, and the Weweantic River 

 District in Carver and Wareham. The latter two districts were inactive 

 during the year. The Salisbury District made another effort to secure the 

 financing of its project through the county commissioners of Essex County 

 but was unsuccessful. It appears that this district should be reorganized as 

 a reclamation district so that it can finance the necessary work in the district 

 area. No work was done in the Weweantic River District but the project as 

 originally outlined is far from completion. This district should also reorgan- 

 ize as a reclamation district or possibly as two districts because the interests 

 of proprietors in different parts of the river valley appear to be divergent. 

 The assessment for construction work in the Cherry Rum Brook District 



