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AMALYSIS <br />This situation presents essentially two questions: <br />(1) Whether the City is responsible for the <br />maintenance of the ditch; and <br />(2) Whether the City is responsible or liable for <br />the ponding of water on the Jentolucci property. <br />Maintenance of Ditch. The City is not responsible <br />for the maintenance of private drainage systems within the City <br />limits. Orono Municipal Code, §9.04, subd. ](b) defines a <br />"private drainage system" as any "storm sewer, ditch, tile <br />line, or other facility, together with all appurtenances <br />thereto, (1) constructed by a private person, or (2) existing <br />on private property, for the purposes of collecting or <br />conveying natural precipitation." Subd. 2 of that section <br />further provides that "it is the r-spoasibility of the owner of <br />any private drainage system, or the owner of the land upon <br />which it is constructed, to maintain such system in good and <br />workable condition . . . ." <br />Hence, pursuant to City ordinance, the Jentoiuccis, <br />not the City, are responsible for the maintenance of the <br />drainage ditch. <br />Responsibility for Water Runoff. The general rule <br />Minnesota regarding the diversion cf surface water is that it <br />municipality in its work of improving its streets or public <br />places interferes with the natural flowage of surface water of <br />fails to take care of it, it is not liable if the possessor of <br />the lower land is no worse off than before. Roche v. City of <br />Minneapolis, 27 N.W.2d 295, 297-98 (1947). Thus, only if the <br />presence oT the culvert increases the runoff onto the <br />Jentolucci land would the City be responsible. John Gerhardson <br />has stated that in his opinion the same amount of water would <br />run onto the Jentolucci property, regardless of the presence of <br />the culvert. <br />CONCLUSION <br />Based upon the available information, it does not <br />appear that the City is responsible for either the maintenance <br />of the ditciâ–º o the presence of the ponding water. As part of <br />the Crystal Bay Sewer improvement Project, the City may wish to <br />have the City Engineer address alternatives to alleviate the <br />runoff. <br />0431F <br />