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Who owns a levee or dike?

1K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  Chris Johnson 
#1 ·
I have come across several levees on the Yakima River that are posted or have fences across them. Since these are built with government funds, I would think there would be a public easement.
Anybody have any knowledge about this?

Greg
 
#2 ·
Can't tell you about the Yak but up here on the Skagit the dikes are posted by the attending dike district and they say No Trespassing. I have often wondered how a dike district which gets its funding from the public can deny that public access to its own dikes. Never made sense to me.
 
#5 ·
Farmers. No single group is more favored by local politicians and by codes than they are. No single industry is given more. Dikes are generally there for them. That's my 2 pennies.

Go Sox,
cds
That is because it was farmers that orginally homesteaded the land, cleared it, and built the original dikes. No mystery here. Johnny come latelys always bitch about those that were there first.
 
#6 ·
Although dikes are often posted, if they were constructed - recently, not originally - with public funds, like the Corps of Engineers, then the public can access them. A person might be arrested and even charged, but if taken to court, will be cleared. That's roughly what I got from the Corps. Dike districts, like corporations everywhere, want public subsidies for private profit.

Sg
 
#8 ·
The answer to your question is "It depends". Instead of falling on the "public funding sword right off the bat, you might try phoning the responsible agency, or showing up at their office, and asking permission? They're sometimes posted to keep folks from dangerous situations and protect that public investment...
 
#18 ·
I have the same issues, how can a taxpayer built dam monitored by the DNRC have an irrigation district de-water a river that has flows from as high as 10KCfs in spring to 40Cfs in late summer? At the very least there should be minimal flows instituted on the river but the irrigation district runs the DNRC I suspect. Don't quite got it figured out who's greasing who's wheel here but grease needs to hit the fan.
 
#21 ·
A lot of farmers love fishing and work to make things better when engaged in the process and not told what to do from on high. Others think we should all go take a piss. Not all farmers are the same, just like people in general.

Levee ownership is as variable as property ownership in general.
 
#22 ·
A lot of farmers love fishing and work to make things better when engaged in the process and not told what to do from on high. Others think we should all go tie a piss. Not all farmers are the same, just like people in general.

Levee ownership is as variable as property ownership in general.
The independant spirit of farmers is a real thing for sure. They are almost always distrustful of someone who may be some sort of government "authority". This in and of itself is pretty healthy. For this reason NGO type groups seem to do the best work, working with farmers.

Go Sox,
cds
 
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