MARSHALL — A few different drainage ditch systems around Lyon County are in need of repairs, county staff said this week. To help with the projects, county commissioners approved one- or two-year assessments for a total of five ditches, including one ditch system that serves as part of the city of Tracy’s storm sewer.

The cost of the different assessments varied, from about $3,200 for a branch of Judicial Ditch 9 near the Lyon County Landfill, to more than $42,000 for outlet and other work on part of County Ditch 17.

Lyon County Planning and Zoning Administrator John Biren presented each of the recommended assessments separately, and gave an overview of the work done or needed on each. Commissioners approved assessments on County Ditch 12, CD 17, CD 25, a branch of Judicial Ditch 9, and JD 10 and 23 in Tracy.

Biren said a 1% assessment was proposed for County Ditch 12, a system the county has been working on just north of the city of Russell.

“We have a repair order, and I have a repair report on my desk that I plan on bringing to the county board,” Biren said. “The estimated cost for the repair is a couple hundred thousand dollars. We need to have that discussion with the board,” he said. The proposed amount of the 1% assessment came to $8,899.33.

An 11% assessment was proposed for County Ditch 17. Biren said that ditch was located north of CD 12. The county had been working with Pheasants Forever with relocating and abandoning some drainage tile in that area, and creating water storage, Biren said.

“In addition to that, we have some outlet work that needs to be done on that pasture ground where the outlet is. There’s some severe erosion that needs to be taken care of there, and we are doing some relocating of some private lines,” he said. Biren anticipated that the majority of that cost would be covered by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The 11% assessment came to an amount of $42,616.62.

Biren said a 10% assessment was proposed for County Ditch 25, which was located east of Highway 91, on the Lyon County line.

“This is an all tile system,” he said. The county had done some repair work on that system, but now they needed to collect money to bring the ditch’s cash balance out of the negative. The assessment would be for a couple of years, he said.

“This is a small, small watershed, so it hits some of (the landowners) very hard,” Biren said. The proposed assessment would come to an amount of $13,435.52.

The next proposed assessment was for 5%, on branch 11A of Judicial Ditch 9.

“That system is located south of the landfill,” Biren said. “We have some significant issues out there, and we need to collect some money for some repairs on this system.”

The amount of the assessment was $3,209.73.

The last assessment commissioners acted on was a proposed 10% assessment on Judicial Ditch 10 & 23. The proposed assessment came to an amount of $35,000.

“Some of it is in the city limits of Tracy, on the southern part of Tracy,” Biren said of the ditch. Biren said doing repair work within the city was more complicated and more expensive, because it meant working with city sewer and electric lines, as well as private utilities that weren’t marked.

“The city of Tracy, in addition to that, is looking to do some work on this,” he said of the ditch. “JD 10 & 23 serves as their storm sewer for that part of town, and I anticipate some expenses on this in the future. It needs some work.”