Sanitary District Easements

The Sanitary District has over 100 miles of pipe and over 2,000 manholes in the Iowa Great Lakes area.  Some of the pipe was installed back as late as 1938.  The pipes are in located in public and private roads, in state parks, through wildlife areas, under the recreational trails, and through private property.  The majority of the Sanitary District facilities that are on private property have a easement that prevents structures from being built on the sewer easement.  The majority of the sewer easements are recorded at the courthouse.  Due to the age of some of the District facilities, some properties may not have recorded easements.  In the cases where an easement has not been recorded, there are easement by prescription or easements by necessity.

If you are looking to purchase a property and want to know if Sanitary District Facilities are on the property please contact the Sanitary District office and we will be glad look up the information for you.  If there are sewer facilities on your property, the Sanitary District will mark the location of the sewer line and the easement with flags and paint.  This help perspective property owners know where they may be able to build or place structures.

If you are looking to build a deck, porch, new structure, an addition to the existing structure, landscaping or add any other type of structure to your property, the Sanitary District recommends you contact the office to see if there are any sewer facilities on your property.  The District will mark our easements and facilities with paint an flags to identify were you can and cannot build.

It is against the Sanitary District's ordinances to violate the terms of a sewer easement.